Weather postpones Bucs' opener vs. Cubs
Game called following second lengthy delay after fourth; no makeup date announced
PITTSBURGH -- Monday night's Pirates-Cubs game at PNC Park was called off after four innings -- and three hours and 29 minutes of rain -- with the teams tied at 1.
A makeup date for the game will be announced at a later date, and tickets for Monday night's game will be honored for the rescheduled game.
Media was not granted access to Pirates manager Clint Hurdle following the postponement but, according to a club spokesman, the pitching rotation for the rest of the series remains intact. That means J.A. Happ will make his Pittsburgh debut in Tuesday night's start, and he will be followed on Wednesday by Jeff Locke. In turn, Jake Arrieta will stay on schedule to start Tuesday for the Cubs, and Dan Haren will make his Chicago debut Wednesday.
Play was halted, for good as it turned out, at the beginning of the fifth inning. An earlier delay in the second inning of two hours and nine minutes had already made for a late night and, with rain lingering in the area, the call to cancel came at 11:59 p.m. ET.
The Pirates burned starter Francisco Liriano as he went two innings -- allowing one hit and fanning three -- and didn't return following the first delay.
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Touching all the bases
• First: The Bucs are ready for their closeup: Monday night's game was the first of three ESPN telecasts this week from PNC Park. Next, Friday's Clayton Kershaw-Gerrit Cole duel, then the Sunday Night Baseball series finale with the Dodgers.
• Second: One casualty of the postponement was Michael Morse's first hit for the Pirates; he doubled in his first at-bat leading off the third inning -- and later scored the Bucs' run on Gregory Polanco's double -- but, of course, the knock never happened due to the cancellation.
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• Third: Including the delay of one hour and 20 minutes until the decision to cancel, the Pirates this season have endured rain delays of 18 hours and two minutes; however, the Bucs hadn't had a home game postponed since April 2013.
• Home: Altoona lefty Steven Brault is the Eastern League pitcher of the week after allowing two earned runs in 12 innings in a pair of wins for the Bucs' Double-A farm team. For good measure, Brault picked up his first two professional hits with a pair of RBI singles in last Tuesday's 3-0 win over Richmond. He was acquired from Baltimore in the deal involving Travis Snider.