The Los Angeles Dodgers and Washington Nationals needed to wait out a rain delay that began during the seventh inning of their series opener and lasted 1 hour and 34 minutes. First pitch on Saturday was pushed back roughly 35 minutes before the 1:05 p.m. PT scheduled start time.
The rainstorm that rolled into Nationals Park included heavy wind, lightning and thunder. The stadium was closed to fans before re-opening later in the afternoon. The game did not begin until 5:15 p.m. PT, or 4 hours and 10 minutes later than scheduled.
It went into extra innings, which saw the Dodgers lose in the 11th, and further compounding matters is inclement weather remains in the forecast on Sunday.
That was on the radar of manager Dave Roberts, who warned another delay could be in the cards, according to Jack Harris of the L.A. Times:
“It’s gonna be a lot of what we saw today,” Roberts predicted of Sunday’s forecast. “It’s gonna be wet. So I don’t know if we’re gonna be on time. I don’t know if there’s gonna be intermittent rain. But we’ll be ready to play when they tell us to.”
If the Dodgers and Nationals are delayed on Sunday, it would make for a long final last day on a six-game road trip.
The Dodgers have not yet named a starter for the series finale with the Nationals, but Gavin Stone could be a candidate to get recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Dodgers rain delays
The Dodgers have encountered plenty of inclement weather on the road since playing at Coors Field in late June. Though, their first rain delay was 1 hour and 4 minutes on April 20 for a game against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.
A hailstorm during the aforementioned game with the Colorado Rockies caused a delay of 1 hour and 50 minutes on June 29.
Rain on July 1 caused a delay between the Dodgers and Kansas City Royals that lasted 1 hour and 25 minutes. Two weeks later on July 15, the Dodgers and New York Mets waited 46 minutes while rain passed through the area.
The same weather cell caused the July 16 start time to preemptively be rescheduled, amounting to a delay of 3 hours and 50 minutes.
While on that same road trip, the Dodgers and Baltimore Orioles were interrupted for 41 minutes on July 19 because the grounds crew did not cover the infield the night prior.
Rain wreaked havoc on the Dodgers and Cleveland Guardians on August 23, with a delay of 1 hour and 36 minutes before play was ultimately suspended. A doubleheader the following afternoon included a delay of 1 hour and 13 minutes, and the Guardians apologized to the Dodgers for Progressive Field grounds crew.
On Friday, the series opener between the Dodgers and Nationals included a rain delay of 1 hour and 34 minutes. Saturday’s start time was pushed back 4 hours and 10 minutes, but got completed without issue after that.
Have you subscribed to the Dodger Blue YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows and giveaways, and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors!
