Cubs' tilt with Reds gets rained out

CINCINNATI -- Miguel Montero and Jorge Soler played dominoes. Anthony Rizzo posted a photo of himself with other 25-and-under teammates: Kris Bryant, Addison Russell, Starlin Castro and Soler. Joe Maddon had a little applesauce, some peanuts and a couple of pieces of sushi.

The Cubs had plenty of down time on Saturday at Great American Ball Park, as they waited 4 hours, 13 minutes before the game was postponed because of rain. No makeup date was announced. The Cubs return to Cincinnati from July 20-22 and Sept. 29-Oct. 1.

The Reds wanted to play because the team was celebrating the 25th anniversary of their 1990 World Series championship squad, and had a sellout crowd at the ballpark.

"I know [the Reds] wanted to get it done for the full house -- and I totally get it, and I'm not going to denigrate the Reds for doing what they thought was the right thing to do," Maddon said.

Saturday was the fourth rain delay of the season for the Reds, and all have been at Great American Ball Park. However, Saturday's time nearly equaled the first three delays combined, which totaled 4 hours 23 minutes. This was the 10th game postponed at the ballpark, which opened in 2003.

"The forecast has been so inconsistent all day," Maddon said. "There was no way to believe it was not going to rain any more. I was originally told we were going to play at 2 [p.m. ET], and then 3:15 and then 4. I had three start times."

The Cubs needed a specific start time for Jake Arrieta, who requires 40 minutes to prep. Maddon asked the umpires to at least give them a heads-up regarding that, and they did.

"When you don't have a specific game time, it's hard to get into that groove," Maddon said. "I thought the umpires did a great job in the end of trying to put this whole thing together."

Arrieta did not throw a pitch, although he did share on Twitter that he wasn't happy about the delay. Maddon said they saw Reds starter Anthony DeSclafani go to the bullpen twice in anticipation of the game starting.

Arrieta (2-1, 1.74 ERA) and DeSclafani (2-0, 0.86 ERA) will square off on Sunday in the series finale. The forecast calls for sunshine and temperatures in the low 60s.

This is the Cubs' second game to be postponed because of rain. They still have to make up an April 7 game against the Cardinals.

At least two hours before the game was called, Maddon walked around left field to check the conditions.

"I'd heard the field drains well, and I wanted to see it for myself," he said. "It's true. I want to compliment them on their drainage."