MLB postpones Phillies-Blue Jays series
Major League Baseball has postponed this weekend’s scheduled series between Toronto and Philadelphia because of concerns about the coronavirus after two Phillies staffers tested positive.
“Major League Baseball will coordinate with health experts and the Major League Baseball Players Association in planning for the Phillies’ resumption of play, and will provide further scheduling updates as necessary,” the league said in a statement Thursday.
Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo revealed news of the postponed series Thursday, saying his club was “not going to Philadelphia,” where the series was scheduled to take place.
“Our plans right now are to stay put and let MLB work through whatever they’re working through,” Montoyo said before his club played the last of four games in Washington.
It’s the latest in a series of scheduling changes as MLB attempts to play a 60game season amid a pandemic that is surging in parts of the United States.
Earlier Thursday, word emerged that another player with the Miami Marlins – who recently played at Philadelphia – tested positive for COVID-19, bringing their total outbreak to 17 players, according to a person familiar with the situation.
The Phillies said there were no positive results among players from Wednesday’s testing of their team. But there were two positives: One from a member of the coaching staff and one from a member of the home clubhouse staff.
All activity at Citizens Bank Park was canceled Thursday until further notice.
McNamara dies: John McNamara, who managed the Boston Red Sox to within one strike of a World Series victory against the New York Mets in 1986 before an unprecedented collapse on the field extended the team’s championship drought into the new millennium, has died. He was 88.
McNamara died Tuesday at his home in Tennessee. The death was unexpected and the cause was not yet known.