MLB, union agree to seven-inning doubleheaders: report

Doubleheaders apparently are about to get shorter.

Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association agreed to a deal that will cut each game in a doubleheader to seven innings beginning today, Aug. 1, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported.

The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal had tweeted earlier Thursday that the sides were working on a deal to reduce the length of doubleheaders for the 2020 season only.

The idea behind the plan is to reduce the wear and tear on pitchers amid a regular season previously reduced to 60 games due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The schedule was altered further this week when the Miami Marlins experienced a COVID-19 outbreak. The Marlins and their most recent opponent, the Philadelphia Phillies, haven’t played since Sunday, and neither will be back on the field again before next Monday at the soonest. The Phillies had two staffers test positive for COVID-19 on Thursday.