D-backs to play twin bill with Mets after rainout
NEW YORK -- Rain at Citi Field is something the D-backs know all too well, as it seems a rain delay almost always accompanies them to New York.
The umpires ushered the D-backs to their clubhouse midway through Friday's scheduled game against the Mets, and they had plenty of time to get comfortable, as heavy rainfall poured on the tarp throughout the night.
At 7:25 p.m. MST, the umpires declared the game postponed, and it will be made up as part of a single-admission doubleheader on Sunday at 10:10 a.m. MST. The delay lasted two hours and 11 minutes.
The decision was not in favor of the D-backs, who had a two-run lead after the top of the fourth inning, when play was halted.
Manager Kirk Gibson said that the umpires initially thought the rain would let up enough to allow the game to be completed, but 20 minutes later the storm's intensity had increased.
"We had a lead, and we liked the direction we were going, but you can't control Mother Nature," Gibson said. "I'd rather stay, but I could see it was going to be raining. We initially were hoping we could just wait it out and play the game tonight. That would be my preference. We had the lead in the game, and it's always better to stay out there and play a game instead of a doubleheader."
Gibson has not yet decided who will follow Bronson Arroyo to start the second game on Sunday, saying only that the team would add a pitcher to fill the 26th roster spot.
At the start of the delay, the game appeared to be headed on a similar path as the one the two teams played on July 2, 2013. On that date the D-backs endured a rain delay of one hour and 41 minutes only to see the Mets win, 9-1.
Entering Friday, the D-backs' offense had been nonexistent for the majority of the time since they scored a franchise-record 18 runs in a win over the Dodgers on Sunday, and they were swept by the Cardinals before coming to New York. Despite reliable pitching, Arizona pitched well in St. Louis but scored just four runs over the three games.
The rain prevented starter Chase Anderson from being eligible to win his third game in as many starts. He held the Mets to just two baserunners and retired nine of the 10 batters he faced.
"I don't think I've ever been part of a game that doesn't count," Anderson said. "I was kind of getting into a groove a little bit. It kind of stinks. I think I was able to come out and get ahead of guys early on. I felt like I was starting to roll after the third inning."
Anderson was hoping to become the first D-backs rookie to record a victory in his first three Major League starts. In his previous two, he could not get through the sixth inning, but even so, he outpitched Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw and Hector Noesi of the White Sox.
The last rookie to win his first three starts was the Pirates' Gerrit Cole, who accomplished the feat last season.
The only scoring on Friday came in the second inning, when Aaron Hill gave the D-backs the lead with a two-run homer to left and snapped an 0-for-8 streak.
Hill was hoping his homer would help snap his team's three-game losing streak, but the D-backs will have to wait, and they know rain could play a factor on Saturday, too.
"I think it's supposed to rain tomorrow as well," Gibson said of the correct time to schedule the doubleheader. "So I think Sunday is better. We're not afraid to get wet."
Hill, knowing that his homer no longer counts, would have been willing to wait all night to make sure the D-backs finished the game and secured a win.
"We need a few of those," Hill said.