CLEVELAND (AP) — If the New York Yankees watched in amusement, two impostors dressed as sluggers Aaron Judge and… Anthony Rizzo ran into the rain-soaked outfield before performing belly slides on the infield tarp.
Cleveland was flooded again.
Friday-evening’s New York and Cleveland series opener was postponed by rain, the last weather report for the Guardians, who have already played five doubleheaders at home.
They will play their sixth at Progressive Field on Saturday, as the teams will have a split doubleheader, starting at 12:10 PM. The second game starts at 6:10 PM
Cleveland also played a day-night doubleheader on Tuesday and the Guardians will play a doubleheader in Detroit on Monday.
Friday’s game was canceled at 7:30 p.m. — 20 minutes after the scheduled first pitch — with thousands of fans already on the ballpark, eyeing the local radar on the giant scoreboard in left field.
Rookie Kirk McCarty (0-1, 10.29 ERA) starts Game 1 for Cleveland against Yankees trump Gerrit Cole (6-2, 2.99). McCarty made his big league-debut against New York in April, giving up four runs and four hits in three innings.
Aaron Civale (2-4, 7.20), who was originally scheduled to start Friday for Cleveland, will start the second game against New York’s Nestor Cortes (6-3, 2.51).
DOBY HORSED
This weekend, the Guardians celebrate that 75 years ago Larry Doby broke the AL color barrier with Cleveland.
On Friday, the team unveiled a large mural outside Progressive Field of Doby, flanked by Satchel Paige and Frank Robinson. Paige was the first black pitcher in the World Series (1948), while Robinson became baseball’s first black manager (1975).
Doby’s story isn’t as well-known as Jackie Robinson’s, but he was subject to the same hatred as the iconic Hall of Famer.
“I’m glad we’re celebrating his ability to be so strong and absorb everything I’m sure he had to, and things we didn’t know he had to,” said Guardians manager Terry Francona. “But I just want to make sure we don’t celebrate treating people equally. That should be a given.”
Interestingly, Francona’s father, Tito, was traded for Doby twice – in 1955 and ’57.
TRAINERS ROOM
Yankees: RHP Jonathan Loáisiga (right shoulder inflammation) will provide live batting training on Saturday in Tampa, Florida. He last pitched in the majors on May 22. … RHP Miguel Castro was placed on the paternity list, but is expected to rejoin the team in Pittsburgh on Monday.
Guardians: C Austin Hedges (concussion) led the bases for the game and did other conditioning work as he neared a return. Hedges went to the IL earlier this week, a few days after removing a dirty tip from his mask. …FROM Oscar Gonzalez (abdominal tightness) underwent an MRI and the team is expected to provide an update.
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