WASHINGTON -- After a weekend full of rain delays, the Nationals and Cubs sat through another three-hour delay on Sunday afternoon, waiting too see if a window arrived as a steady, heavy rainfall soaked Nationals Park.
The window never arrived, and Sunday's series finale was postponed due to inclement weather. It was rescheduled for Thursday at 4:05 p.m. ET.
Tickets for Sunday's game will be honored for the rescheduled game or can be exchanged for any other remaining 2018 Nationals regular-season game.
The makeup game will force the Nationals to return to D.C. in the middle of a three-city, eight-game road trip, traveling after a night game in Philadelphia on Wednesday and before a Friday night game in Atlanta. The Cubs will have to split a homestand and return to Washington after a Wednesday night game and before a day game in Chicago on Friday.
The Nationals will remain on rotation, with Erick Fedde, who was scheduled to start Sunday, getting pushed back to Monday and Tanner Roark and Stephen Strasburg to pitch Tuesday and Wednesday in Philadelphia, respectively.
Both teams sat through extended rain delays the past three days. After a 1-hour, 20-minute rain delay, they began Friday's game only for it to be washed away in the second inning with a doubleheader scheduled on Saturday. Then, both games Saturday were delayed -- the start of the first game pushed back by 2 hours, 10 minutes and the nightcap interrupted in the eighth inning for 1 hour, 29 minutes. Still, the Nationals managed to sweep the doubleheader.
"The best way I could describe it is perseverance," manager Dave Martinez said Sunday morning. "For those guys to sit there all day, rain, not rain, rain, not rain, we're going to play, we're not going to play, and then do what they do, it's a testament of what kind of team we have. And I'm proud of them. They decided hey, if we're here, let's go win."