Resumption of Mets-Marlins game on Monday still might be necessary
Pete Alonso of the Mets talks with Josh Bell, center, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. of the Marlins during a prolonged rain delay at Citi Field on Thursday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Are the Mets and Marlins going to have to finish that suspended game from Thursday on Monday afternoon?
After Saturday night’s relevant games ended and the final NL wild-card spots were clinched by Miami and Arizona, you’d think the answer would be a resounding no.
You would be wrong.
As the regular season heads into its final scheduled day on Sunday, there still is a chance the Mets and Marlins will have to reconvene at Citi Field to finish the game from Thursday that was suspended by rain with the Marlins leading 2-1 and one out in the top of the ninth inning. It could affect playoff seeding.
Not for the Mets, of course. They didn’t make the playoffs.
After Saturday’s results, Miami leads Arizona by a half-game for the NL’s No. 5 seed. If Miami wins or Arizona loses on Sunday, the Marlins will clinch the fifth seed and the game from Thursday will not need to be resumed.
But if the reverse happens and Arizona jumps a half-game ahead of Miami on Sunday, the Marlins still will have a shot at the fifth seed. That’s because the Marlins hold the tiebreaker against the Diamondbacks and could tie them with a resumed-game victory over the Mets.
Thursday’s game cannot be counted as completed by MLB rule because the Marlins took a 2-1 lead over the Mets with two runs in the top of the ninth. By MLB rule, the Mets must be allowed to bat in the bottom of the ninth before the game is official.
Now, will MLB force the Marlins to fly from Pittsburgh back to New York and resume the game against a Mets team that really, really wants to go home after Sunday’s final scheduled 2023 game against the Phillies at Citi Field?
An MLB spokesman, asked just that question on Saturday, said no decision had been made. Clearly, MLB is hoping things work themselves out on Sunday and there is no need to contemplate a resumed game on Monday.
But there’s a chance things might not work out on Sunday. In that case, MLB will have to decide what to do.
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.
