The Boston Red Sox were extremely upset over the way their weather-impacted game against the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday was handled.
The Baltimore area has seen substantial rainfall this week, resulting in flooding and road closures. Wednesday’s forecast called for more rain in the evening. Despite that, the series finale between the Red Sox and Orioles began as scheduled despite the real possibility it would not be completed without a delay, if at all. The latter ended up being the case as the game was postponed with the Red Sox up 5-0 in the second inning.
Following the postponement, Red Sox manager Alex Cora voiced his displeasure with the way the weather was handled throughout the three-game series, which included several delays. He said he was “annoyed” about the situation.
Alex Cora: "I’m anoyed about the whole 3-game series. Honestly it was tough. Rick had to wait for a while in a game that with two outs in the first inning there was a rain delay."
(Annoyed at O's?)
"Whoever handled it, yeah."(What should've happened?)
I mean, not start it.— Jason Mastrodonato (@JMastrodonato) July 26, 2018
David Price, who started Wednesday’s game and now has nothing to show for it, reportedly refused to answer questions afterward.
Red Sox are livid with handling of weather/postponement. An angry Alex Cora made his disappointment clear. Price refused to answer questions
— Sean McAdam (@Sean_McAdam) July 26, 2018
The Red Sox and Orioles have butted heads over the years for various reasons, which isn’t surprising given how often they play each season. While neither team could do anything about the weather, Boston clearly feels Baltimore could have reacted better under the circumstances. As Sean McAdam points out, the decision to stop or resume a game that is already underway falls on the umpires. To start the game is a choice made by the home team. In this case, that was the Orioles.
To clarify: decision to start/play game is in hands of home team. Decision to stop/resume/cancel is in hands of umpires
— Sean McAdam (@Sean_McAdam) July 26, 2018
Boston and Price’s frustration are understandable. The Orioles are struggling so much they’re probably just looking to get the season over. But this is the latest dramatic incident to transpire between the clubs, and we’ve seen many recently.
