WASHINGTON -- This was supposed to be one of the most important weeks of the season for the Nationals, with seven games at home against two division rivals ahead of them in the National League East standings. But inclement weather has altered the first two nights of their scheduled four-game series with the Phillies, causing Tuesday night’s game to be postponed as rain continued to fall on the D.C. area.
The game will be played as part of a split doubleheader on Tuesday, Sept. 24, at Nationals Park, which will require fans to have tickets for separate admission. More information will be available on Nationals.com/rain.
The two teams have a split doubleheader scheduled for Wednesday as a makeup for Monday’s rainout. Patrick Corbin is scheduled to start the first game Wednesday at 1:05 p.m. ET, and Washington has left its starter for the second game as TBD. The forecast for Wednesday does not look promising, with rain predicted all day and night.
Prior to the games being officially postponed, Washington and Philadelphia both had to sit through delays lasting multiple hours on Monday and Tuesday. During Monday's delay, players watched videos of old home runs from members of the team, including Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg and even manager Dave Martinez, who was asked if he ever “pimped” or celebrated a homer.
“No, I wasn’t a pimper,” Martinez said with a laugh. “I didn’t hit that many to pimp.”
The two teams may have to prepare for more delays on Wednesday, but if they do manage to get two games in, Washington has a few options for a starter in Game 2.
Scherzer had been lined up to pitch on normal rest, but he suffered a broken nose during a bunting drill on Tuesday afternoon. A CT scan came back negative and the team announced his status for Wednesday as TBD.
If Scherzer cannot start, or the Nats just want to give him some extra time to recover, they could turn to Erick Fedde, who at the beginning of the week was scheduled to start Tuesday on normal rest. Another option would be Austin Voth, who as of Tuesday night was en route to D.C. to be the Nats’ 26th man for Wednesday’s doubleheader.