Rain postpones Braves' game in Philadelphia
Contest to be made up in June; Teheran to start Wednesday instead of Hale
PHILADELPHIA -- With rain already falling on Citizens Bank Park and an even worse forecast for later in the night, the Braves' game against the Phillies on Tuesday was postponed.
Instead of playing two games on Wednesday, the game will be made up as part of a four-game series from June 27-29 at Citizens Bank Park, although the specific date has not been announced.
Given an option, Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez would have preferred to play a doubleheader Wednesday.
"I think the way the outlook was, the percentage [chance of rain] goes up and the temperature goes down, I think it would've been bad for the fans as well," Gonzalez said. "I'd tell you what; I would have rather played tomorrow. Just get it out of the way."
The Braves will skip starter David Hale and go with Julio Teheran in Wednesday night's 7:05 ET game against the Phillies -- who will hold their Jackie Robinson salute during that game, with both teams wearing No. 42 jerseys.
The move will keep Hale available out of the bullpen on Wednesday and Thursday and sets him up as the starter on Sunday at Citi Field in New York.
"I think the momentum is as good as your next-day starter," said Gonzalez, one day after the Braves won a thrilling 9-6 decision over the Phillies in which all nine runs were scored on five home runs. "The field's not going to change. "
For the Braves, one of the benefits of the rainout is the status of Craig Kimbrel, who was held out of the last two games with shoulder soreness. Kimbrel -- whose 144 career saves, including a perfect 5-for-5 this season, leaves him 10 from the franchise record of 154 held by John Smoltz -- first felt the soreness on Saturday but did throw on Tuesday before the rain began to fall.
"With Hale down there, we can recharge that bullpen a little bit," Gonzalez said. "[Kimbrel] played a little catch today, nothing major. Hopefully tomorrow he wakes up a little better, or progressively better."
Whether he would have been available on Tuesday, well, that will remain a mystery.
"I can't divulge that information for competition reasons," Gonzalez said with a smile. "We'll never know."