Mets, D-backs to play twin bill after rainout

NEW YORK -- Friday's game between the Mets and D-backs was postponed in the middle of the fourth inning, with Arizona leading, 2-0. That score will be wiped from the record books, and the two teams will play a single-admission doubleheader on Sunday beginning at 1:10 p.m. ET at Citi Field.

Only fans holding tickets marked "Sunday, May 25 -- Game 27" will be admitted to the doubleheader. Banner Day will continue as scheduled, with registration beginning at 10 a.m. Family Sunday pregame activities at Mets Plaza will begin at 11 a.m. The Mr. Met postgame dash around the bases for kids will follow the second game.

Those holding a paid ticket for Friday's game can exchange it for a comparably priced ticket to another home game within 12 months, subject to availability.

Zack Wheeler will start Saturday's 4:10 p.m. game for the Mets as scheduled, opposite right-hander Josh Collmenter. Rookie Rafael Montero will start Game 1 of the doubleheader, followed by Daisuke Matsuzaka in Game 2. The D-backs will counter with right-hander Bronson Arroyo in one of the games but have not announced the starter for the other.

Matsuzaka has spent the past month-plus appearing out of the bullpen, never throwing more than 56 pitches in an outing. But pitching coach Dan Warthen said he would be comfortable allowing Matsuzaka to throw as many as 100 pitches in his start, which could come in handy for a team now scheduled to play four games in roughly 48 hours.

"It's definitely been a while, but it's something I know how to do," said Matsuzaka, who had spent his career almost exclusively as a starter prior to this season. "I don't really want to think too deeply into it. I just want to go into the game and do my role."

Like the rest of the team, Matsuzaka will have to scramble a bit, but the rainout did play slightly into the Mets' advantage, considering they were losing by two runs at the time of the delay.

In the top of the fourth, with rain rapidly approaching from the south, the Mets began warning fans to leave their seats and concession lines and take cover. The two teams completed that half-inning before the grounds crew rushed out to put the tarp on the field. Moments later the rain arrived, and it came down steadily for more than two hours.

Arizona had taken an early lead on Aaron Hill's two-run homer in the second inning off Bartolo Colon. The homer plated Miguel Montero, who had singled to open the inning.

Colon pitched four innings, striking out three and walking none. D-backs rookie Chase Anderson was better, facing one batter over the minimum in three innings. Anderson had retired five in a row at the time of the delay. All of those statistics will be eliminated from Major League Baseball's records.