Mets-Phillies postponed

NEW YORK — The New York Mets sidestepped another meteorological miscue Monday night.

A day after pushing starter Marcus Stroman to pitch amid rain that paused play after seven minutes, the Mets called off their game Monday against the Philadelphia Phillies with another downpour en route, rescheduling it as part of a doubleheader on Tuesday.

The decision was announced about two hours before Monday’s 7:10 p.m. scheduled first pitch.

The single-admission doubleheader will start at 4:10 p.m. Tuesday, and the second game will start about 30 minutes after the first game ends. Both games will be seven innings, keeping with an adjustment introduced during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.

New York has played just five games in the first 12 days of the season due to a COVID-19 outbreak among the Washington Nationals and then bad weather.

The rainout follows a blunder by the Mets ballpark operations staff, which powered ahead with a first pitch Sunday afternoon, only to have umpires waive the teams off the field two outs into the top of the first inning. Home teams make decisions regarding delays before games start, but once they’re under way, that power transfers to the umpires.

Stroman started that game for New York and threw just nine pitches. He tweeted his unhappiness to have wasted his turn in the rotation.

Mets manager Luis Rojas initially said Monday that Stroman would remain on four days of rest and pitch Friday at Colorado. After the postponement was announced, Rojas reversed course and said Stroman would start the nightcap Tuesday.

Rojas said Stroman had initially wanted to recreate his entire between-start regimen, including a bullpen and workouts, but after playing catch Monday, Stroman told his manager his arm would be ready for Tuesday.