After such a mild winter, few could have expected that the first week of both the Major League and Minor League schedules would be filled with cold and wet weather that would stand in the way of the national pastime.
While the Indians were dealt a pair of postponements in Cleveland and another over the weekend in Chicago, their Triple-A affiliate in Columbus has had almost no luck getting in baseball.
After losing three days of baseball to start the season, the Clippers again had to postpone a ball game as rain flooded the Columbus area and washed out the first game of their series with the Louisville Bats, the affiliates of the Cincinnati Reds.
“The field is just saturated and unplayable,” Clippers communications director Joe Santry was quoted in The Columbus Dispatch on Monday, “so there was no choice but to call the game.’’
Monday’s special event, the fan favorite Dime-A-Dog night, has been rescheduled for Tuesday’s 6:35 PM start against the Bats and will be joined by City Barbeque’s 4 for $6 Ribs special.
Wednesday will become the second doubleheader for the Clippers in four days, as Columbus and Louisville will begin play at 11:35 AM, with the second game taking place approximately 30 minutes after the first game ends. Tickets for Wednesday’s contest will get you in to both games, the customary seven-inning minor league doubleheader variety.
Tickets to the cancelled Monday ball game can be exchanged for any remaining 2016 regular season game for equal or lesser value.
It’s been a rough week in the Ohio capital for baseball fans.
Thursday’s season opener, a special one for the Clippers organization as they were set to celebrate their Governors’ Cup victory in the 2015 postseason with a ring ceremony prior to the game, was erased by inclement weather. The team adjusted the games for the rest of the weekend so that a seven-inning doubleheader could be added comfortably to the schedule for Sunday, but instead, Mother Nature intervened by causing games on both Friday afternoon and Saturday afternoon to be cancelled because of the weather in the area.
The Clippers were able to salvage some sort of a home opener and their pre-game festivities on Sunday afternoon as they played two against the Indianapolis Indians, splitting the double dip on a cold day for baseball, the coldest opener in the history of Huntington Park.
Mike Clevinger earned the win in his first regular season start at the Triple-A level by shutting down the Indians with five scoreless innings on the mound. Shawn Armstrong and Austin Adams both worked scoreless innings and a Jesus Aguilar solo home run in the first inning accounted for the game’s only run.
Indianapolis claimed the second game of the doubleheader by blasting reliever Toru Murata for four runs in the third as the Clippers could muster just five singles and made three errors in the 4-0 loss.
The bad weather in Columbus has had a detrimental impact on the Indians as well, as it has led to a delay in the rehab assignments of three of their players currently on the disabled list. Lonnie Chisenhall appeared in his first game this season in the first game of the doubleheader and started in right field. Relief pitcher Tommy Hunter pitched a scoreless inning to start the second game. Michael Brantley was with the club and scheduled to work out with them and will now hope that the weather allows him to see regular game action as he and his fellow Indians in Columbus eye their return to the Major League roster as soon as possible.
Photo: MiLB.com
