NewsMarlins-Phillies matchup washed out
Game called in second; no makeup date announced
By David Villavicencio / MLB.com
07/18/09 9:50 PM ET
MIAMI -- The Marlins-Phillies game at Land Shark Stadium was rained out Saturday night after a 90-minute rain delay that started with one out in the bottom of the second inning.Play was stopped at 7:38 p.m. ET, with the Marlins leading, 2-0, after a John Baker groundout to second. The umpires officially called the game at 9:08 p.m.
No makeup date has been scheduled, but it could happen in September when the Phillies come back to Land Shark Stadium for a two-game series on Sept. 22-23.
"This is why you need that stadium from this morning," Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez said about the team's upcoming retractable-roof stadium, which broke ground earlier Saturday. "It's a difficult thing to handle as a manager, a player and a coach. It's something that you have to handle because obviously it's going to be here for the next 2 1/2 years and has been here since '93."
Before the downpour, Josh Johnson threw two scoreless innings where he allowed just one hit, a two-out single by Chase Utley in the first. Florida's ace had excellent command, throwing 21 of his 30 pitches for strikes.
Gonzalez said the team prepared to bring Johnson back in case the rain delay was brief.
"We threw him in the cages a couple times just in case we would have been able to play, but you start dealing with a guy after 45 minutes to an hour who is just a year away from coming back from Tommy John surgery, and for me, it would have been a tough pill to swallow if we would have run him back out there," Gonzalez said. "We didn't have to make that decision. Mother Nature did that for us." The Marlins plated two runs in the first on Jeremy Hermida's two-run double to left field off Phillies starter Joe Blanton. Hermida lined a 2-0 sinker that allowed Emilio Bonifacio to score easily from third and Hanley Ramirez, who ran aggressively from the crack of the bat, to score from first.
Florida has not named a starter for Monday's game against the Padres in San Diego, but Gonzalez ruled out bring back Johnson on such short rest.
"We're working on when he's coming back again," Gonzalez said. "He probably will stay on his normal rotation which would be Friday, unless something wacky happens again [Sunday] with the rain. That's what we're planning to do right now. The earliest we could bring him back would be on Wednesday but as of right now, he's going on Friday."
David Villavicencio is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
