Jays halted by rain, will finish today

BUFFALO, New York — The Toronto Blue Jays had their game Saturday against Tampa Bay suspended in the fourth inning because of rain, a hazard of playing in their temporary outdoor home in Buffalo.

Play was called at Sahlen Field with the Blue Jays about to bat in the fourth inning and trailing 1-0. About two hours later, it became a suspended game.

The Rays and Blue Jays will resume today and finish their nine-inning game. They will then play a seven-inning game, shortened from the regularly scheduled nine innings.

Toronto’s previous suspended home game occurred on Aug. 28, 1980, against Minnesota, when a day game was halted after 14 innings due to a 5 p.m. curfew at Exhibition Stadium, which was also a venue for concerts during the annual Canadian National Exhibition.

Saturday’s was the Blue Jays’ first home weather delay since July 26, 2003, when sudden rain caused a 26-minute delay in a game against the Chicago White Sox at Rogers Centre, which features a retractable roof and opened in 1989. The Blue Jays have had six delays at Rogers Centre, four due to rain and once each due to bugs and fog. They have also had two pre-game postponements in their current home due to unsafe roof conditions, with the last of those occurring in 2018.

Toronto is playing in Buffalo at the home of their Triple-A affiliate after the Canadian government banned the team for hosting games at Rogers Centre because of coronavirus concerns.

In the third inning, a patch of thunderstorms began developing in an area about 10 miles east of Sahlen Field. The storm steadily crept its way toward the ballpark as skies looked increasingly ominous and winds intensified.

The grounds crew had a discussion with the umpires and was told to place the tarp on the field. Torrential rain started within a minute of their decision.

Tampa Bay took its 1-0 lead on Austin Meadows’ home run in the third inning.

CLEVELAND 3

DETROIT 1

DETROIT — Shane Bieber dominated once again, striking out 11 in seven scoreless innings and the Cleveland

Indians beat the Detroit Tigers for the 19th straight time, winning 3-1 Saturday.

Cleveland’s winning streak against one opponent is the longest since the Baltimore Orioles beat the Kansas City Royals 23 times in a row in 1969.

Bieber (4-0) allowed three hits and a walk and lowered his ERA to 1.30 in five starts this season.

“Talk about being on a roll,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “He has the ability to throw any pitch at any spot in any count, and I don’t think I’ve seen another pitcher with a curveball and slider that are almost the identical speed with different breaks.”

The All-Star Game MVP from last year has struck out a major leagueleading 54 in 342⁄3 innings this season.

“He can command all of his pitches and that’s really tough,” Jonathan Schoop said. “You’ve got to get him out of the game as soon as possible. I think he’s better than last year.”

Bieber fanned the side in the third and fourth and added two more in the fifth. “I started locating my pitches better after the first couple innings,” he said. “Sandy [Leon] and I got into a nice rhythm. I started to vary my curve ball and throw some sliders off that, and I could locate fastballs just to keep guys off the outside of the plate.” —