HIT THE SHOWERS! SIX PPD.
All-Star aces Max Scherzer, Shane Bieber and Gerrit Cole all got early showers Friday.
So did many other players after six games were rained out, the most Major League Baseball postponements in a day because of inclement weather since 2018.
Wrigley Field, Yankee Stadium and Camden Yards were among the ballparks where games were wiped out. And there’s no guarantee the rain will go away this weekend, either.
The last time there were a half-dozen games called off because of weather was April 15, 2018, when snow, sleet, wind and rain conspired to close ballparks. Those were the most since Sept. 12, 2008, when there also were six — Hurricane Ike battering the Gulf Coast contributed to those postponements.
Heavy rain in the East Coast and out in Ohio and Illinois dampened this weekend’s schedule.
The rainouts: Kansas City at Baltimore, Texas at the New York Yankees, Toronto at Cleveland, Los Angeles Dodgers at Chicago Cubs, New York Mets at Philadelphia and Pittsburgh at Cincinnati.
Teams playing division rivals pushed back makeup dates until late this summer, with the Pirates and Reds rescheduling for July and the Mets and Phillies until August.
Bieber and the Guardians will try to host Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and the Blue Jays in a traditional doubleheader today. Cleveland has had four home games called off by inclement weather this season and this will be its third doubleheader at Progressive Field.
Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw is expected to pitch today in a split doubleheader against the Cubs. It’s supposed to be clear but cool at Wrigley for those games.
The Royals-Orioles and Rangers-Yankees games are scheduled to be made up as part of doubleheaders Sunday.
Notable
Umpire Dan Bellino issued an apology after ejecting Arizona Diamondbacks star pitcher Madison Bumgarner from a game in Miami this week.
“I would like to address my actions on May 4th involving Madison Bumgarner,” the statement said. “When I began my MLB career almost 15 years ago, I received some good advice. I was told to umpire every game as if my children were sitting in the front row. I fell short of those expectations this week. While I can’t go back and change what happened, I take full accountability. I will learn from this incident, and I sincerely apologize.”
As Bumgarner was walking to the dugout at the end of the first, the veteran lefthander gestured with his arm before holding his hand out for Bellino to take a look. Bumgarner said something to Bellino as the check was ending, and the umpire threw him out. The 32-yearold then started yelling at Bellino and had to be restrained by some coaches.
• The Red Sox put center fielder Kike Hernandez and left-handed starter Rich Hill on the COVID-19 injured list before their opener against the White Sox at Fenway Park.