One thing many can agree on is that the year 2020 has been awful in many ways, highlighted by the coronarvirus pandemic. Nothing seems to be going smoothly. The Washington Nationals’ grounds crew struggling with the rain tarp Sunday afternoon sums up 2020 in so many ways.
The heavens opened up in the sixth inning of Sunday’s game between the Nationals and Baltimore Orioles. And then the show began for Washington’s grounds crew.
For roughly 20 minutes, the grounds crew battled unsuccessfully to get the tarp down to cover the infield. The rain didn’t let up either.
By the time they were able to get the tarp untangled to cover the infield, the rain basically stopped and the sun came back out.
The infield was soaked and muddy as a result. This caused further delay of the game.
The grounds crew turned their attention to drying the dirt on the field. Dryers were brought out to no avail. Ultimately, the Nationals announced the game was suspended in the sixth inning and will be resumed Friday in Baltimore. The Nationals will serve as the home team. Baltimore leads 5-2.
The field was deemed “unplayable,” according to Nationals manager Dave Martinez. Because weather was not the direct reason for the game not resuming Sunday, it will be allowed to be made up at a later date.
The game isn’t a loss for Washington, but the Nationals grounds crew took one heck of an “L” on Sunday.
