Broken water main near Coors postpones game

DENVER -- In what has to be one of the more unique reasons to postpone a game in the history of baseball, Saturday's Reds-Rockies game was called off because of a water main break outside of Coors Field.

The game will be rescheduled for Sunday as part of a day-night doubleheader. Game 1 will begin at 4:10 p.m. ET with Game 2 slated for 9:10 p.m. ET.

Reds manager Bryan Price called this type of postponement a first he's seen.

"It is for me, no doubt," Price said.

Mat Latos is scheduled to pitch Game 1 for Cincinnati against Colorado's Jordan Lyles. Dylan Axelrod, who was called up from Triple-A Louisville to make his Reds debut Saturday, will now pitch Game 2 against Yohan Flande.

Word of the water main breakage occurred around one hour before the scheduled 8:10 p.m. ET first pitch. A Rockies official said it happened at 20th and Blake Streets, just outside the main home plate entrance of the ballpark. The stadium lost its water pressure, which left rest rooms inoperative and no running water.

Shortly before the game was called, Price and Rockies manager Walt Weiss convened on the field with ballpark officials.

"We're both in the same place," Price said. "The game was delayed initially. You could tell. There was no water in here. They said there was a water main break and the game was delayed. It sounded like the game was about to get canceled when we were inside waiting out the delay. Then Rockies officials came in and said it would start in a half hour. So both the starters went out from both teams to get ready.

"Fortunately before either one of them really got throwing off of the mound, all of a sudden they said it was a delay again and improbable to play because of the health department's concerns over toilets not being able to flush. I get that. I just wondered what happened to where they thought we were going to be able to play the game and then to where we couldn't. I don't have an answer to that."

Having a night game on Sunday puts the Reds in a less-than-desired travel situation. The club will have to fly overnight and get into St. Louis early Monday morning before an 8:15 p.m. ET game that night.

"We've done this before," Price said. "Everybody is conditioned to this, a doubleheader. Where we are in a little bit of a bind, of course, is we'll need another starter five days from now."

The 12-inch water main was utilized by only Coors Field, according to Denver Water spokeswoman Stacy Chesney. Chesney was uncertain of the age of the pipe that failed but did add that no other businesses in downtown Denver lost water pressure.

The pipe will have to be replaced before Sunday's doubleheader.

"It's not an ideal situation, but our folks will work as hard and as fast as they can to get it repaired," Chesney told the Denver Post.