Rainout pushes Verlander's start to Wednesday

CHICAGO -- Tuesday's game between the Tigers and White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field was postponed because of a forecast of impending rain. A makeup date has not yet been announced.

The rain was coming down hard around 6 p.m. ET, but several Tigers players briefly went outside to play catch anyway. In his pregame session with reporters, manager Brad Ausmus said he hadn't been told anything specific about the weather, instead preferring to rely on a weather app on his phone. But the forecast looked bleak, and the game was called approximately two hours before the scheduled first pitch.

Both clubs decided to push Tuesday's probable starters back a day and skip the original matchup for Wednesday. Justin Verlander will take on John Danks on Wednesday, so the Tigers will skip Drew Smyly. Aces Max Scherzer and Chris Sale will duel on Thursday as originally planned.

Ausmus was well aware that the conditions were expected to be extremely wet and planned his lineup accordingly. For the second straight day, he slotted Miguel Cabrera at DH and Victor Martinez at first base. Ausmus added that Cabrera, who is nursing a tight left hamstring, probably could have played first, but felt there was no need to push it.

"Yeah, he said he felt better today," Ausmus said. "But it's going to be wet out there, and I don't' know if he would have played the field anyway, but the fact that it's going to be raining on and off makes the decision easier to DH him."

The move became moot once the postponement was announced, but perhaps the extra day of rest will benefit Cabrera. Even if it doesn't, Ausmus knows the two-time reigning MVP can play through any lingering discomfort and feels at least good enough to continue to DH.

"He proved last year that he can play through injury and pain, but we're also in June. We're not in September, so you've got to be smart about it, " Ausmus said. "But I think Miggy's not one of these guys that a little ache or pain is going to keep him out of the lineup."