What a mess.
After Wednesday’s start of Game 2 of the Wild Card Series between the Yankees and Indians was delayed by nearly 45 minutes because of the threat of rain at Progressive Field in Cleveland, the game finally started — after no rain — only to be delayed again with one out in the bottom of the first and the Indians up, 1-0, when the rain finally came.
The disastrous move came after Cleveland’s Carlos Carrasco threw 17 pitches in the top of the first and Masahiro Tanaka tossed 11 pitches and gave up a run in the bottom of the inning.
Tanaka returned to the mound after the second delay, which lasted 33 minutes.
Before a game, MLB determines whether to start a game, in consultation with both teams. Once the game begins, the decision belongs to the umpires.
On the ESPN broadcast, Cleveland pitching coach Carl Willis said, “We started in a delay. Here in Cleveland, with the lake effect [off Lake Erie], you can follow the radar and things can turn around and come back on you. We thought we were gonna be safe.’’
A source familiar with the situation added the weather at Progressive Field presents unique challenges because of the lake effect and while the first heavy system missed the stadium, the second system strengthened as it came onshore.
Before the stoppage, Carrasco pitched a scoreless inning, while Tanaka allowed back-to-back doubles to Cesar Hernandez and Jose Ramirez to give the Indians a one-run lead.