Rain stops shortly after Nationals-Dodgers postponed
A little bit of patience might have allowed the Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Dodgers to play Game 2 on Saturday as scheduled, rather than postpone it until Sunday.
First pitch was scheduled at 4 p.m. ET, but with rain expected to continue through 8 p.m., commissioner Rob Manfred announced that the game would be moved. The rain, however, cleared up shortly after the game was called and didn't return.
No rain falling at Nationals Park right now
— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) October 8, 2016
still not raining
— Andy McCullough (@McCulloughTimes) October 8, 2016
game 2...rain check ☔️ pic.twitter.com/mq7mTerHrM
— Joc Pederson (@yungjoc650) October 8, 2016
The weather folks may have overshot things. Perfectly clear as I leave Nats park
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) October 8, 2016
People, it hasn't rained in DC for 2+ hours. 🙄🤔
— Alanna Rizzo (@alannarizzo) October 8, 2016
"We hate to cancel," Manfred told reporters. "We hate to make travel worse on the players than it was originally intended to be. But it just doesn't look like we're going to have a situation that would be safe for the players to play."
Game 2 will now take place at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday in Washington, with Game 3 still scheduled for Monday in Los Angeles. The delay could wreak havoc on the two teams' pitching staffs, as it now prevents Clayton Kershaw and Max Scherzer from potentially coming back on short rest for Game 4.