Rain Postpones Series Finale in Cincinnati

[St. Jimmy]

Fredi Gonzalez alerts Marlins video coordinator Cullen McRae not to head to the ballpark

After a postponement Thursday night, the Cincinnati Reds kept their pitching plans intact for this weekend against Cleveland. And that means a marquee matchup: Edinson Volquez vs. Cliff Lee.

The game between the Florida Marlins and Reds was postponed because of poor weather, called two hours before it was supposed to start because of steady showers.

No makeup date was set for the finale of the scheduled four-game series. The last-place Reds had won the first three against the NL East-leading Marlins.

“There’s nothing you can do about it,” Reds manager Dusty Baker said.

Baker announced that Matt Belisle, who had been scheduled to start, would be skipped until Tuesday against the Dodgers. Johnny Cueto will start Friday night against the visiting Indians.

On Sunday, it will be Volquez, 6-1 and leading the NL with a 1.12 ERA, against Lee, 6-0 and leading the majors with an 0.67 ERA.

“We want to keep Volquez on schedule,” Baker said.

Despite three straight losses, manager Fredi Gonzalez didn’t think the Marlins needed a break. On Wednesday night, they rallied for six runs in the ninth inning to tie it before losing 7-6 in the 10th.

“We didn’t play very well, but we still had a chance to win the ballgame,” Gonzalez said. “That’s a good sign, seeing those guys come back and grind out six runs.”

“Overall, we’re playing up to the max right now,” third baseman Jorge Cantu said. “Everybody is. Everybody’s letting the talent take over.”

The postponement left Florida with a 3-3 record on its road trip. Gonzalez found it satisfying and disappointing at the same time.

“We won three in Washington and lost three here,” he said. “At the beginning of the year, you say if you go .500 on the road, you’re happy, but we feel like we could’ve gone 4-2.”

Andrew Miller, who had been scheduled to start Thursday night, will be pushed back to pitch Friday night against the Kansas City Royals. The entire rotation will be moved back a day.

The postponement was just the second in the six-year history of Great American Ball Park—the first before a pitch had been thrown. The Cincinnati-Philadelphia game on June 15, 2003, was called after a 1-hour, 25-minute delay in the top of the second inning.

AP