WASHINGTON -- Persistent rain led Major League Baseball to postpone Game 2 of the NL division series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Washington Nationals to this afternoon.
The teams were scheduled for a 3:08 p.m. first pitch Saturday, but rain that intensified as Hurricane Matthew moved up the coast and a forecast of "100 percent certainty" for precipitation until at least 8 p.m. forced the decision, Commissioner Rob Manfred said.
LA leads the best-of-five series 1-0 after a 4-3 victory Friday night.
Manfred said he expected the weather to be better for a 12:08 p.m. start today at Nationals Park. It's supposed to be 61 degrees and windy.
Left-hander Rich Hill (12-5, 2.12 ERA) will start Game 2 for the Dodgers against right-hander Tanner Roark (16-10, 2.83). Manfred said the rest of the series will proceed as scheduled with Game 3 on Monday afternoon at Dodger Stadium -- the rain wiped out the travel day to the West Coast.
Nationals second baseman Daniel Murphy said players came in prepared to play, but he was glad the decision was made quickly.
"Hats off to Major League Baseball for canceling this early," Murphy said. "I'm sure they didn't want either pitcher to get out there and get caught in a situation where you lose one of them, especially in a short series like this."
The postponement means the teams will have to play and fly Sunday.
"We do East-West travel like this during the regular season," Manfred said. "It's not ideal but doable."
It's expected to be Dodgers righty Kenta Maeda against Nationals lefty Gio Gonzalez in Game 3. Manager Dave Roberts said lefty Julio Urias would start Game 4, if necessary, which would leave ace Clayton Kershaw available for a possible Game 5.
Sports on 10/09/2016