Monday's makeup game could come in August

CINCINNATI -- The silver lining to having a rainout on Monday, of course, is that the Cubs and Reds are in the same division, and therefore will have at least a decent opportunity to make the game up without throwing a major wrench in either team's schedule.

The most reasonable makeup date appears to be Aug. 25, a mutual off-day for both teams. The Reds and Cubs are slated to start a three-game set on Aug. 26. The Cubs will be finishing a homestand with Baltimore on Aug. 24, whereas the Reds will be wrapping up a home series with the Braves.

Ideally, the makeup game would be played as soon as possible, which usually translates to the next time the two teams meet in the city where the rainout occurred. But in this situation, that would be July 7-10, and neither team has off-days surrounding that series to play the extra game. A doubleheader can be scheduled, but normally, teams opt to play on a mutual off-day rather than double-up games.

Another sticking point could be the rule that states no team can play more than 20 games in a row without a day off. However, when a makeup day is needed, the players simply have to OK adding the extra game in, which historically has not been an issue.