The upcoming St. Louis Cardinals-Pittsburgh Pirates three-game series has been postponed due to the Cardinals’ coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, the league announced Sunday. The outbreak has seen at least nine players and seven staff members test positive for the virus. This is the fourth series in a row to be called off for the Cardinals, who have played just five games this season.
The league said it made the decision “in light of the most recent positive test results.” Here’s a statement from MLB:
In light of the most recent positive test results, MLB and the Club believe it is prudent to conduct additional testing while players and staff are quarantined before the team returns to play. More information regarding the Cardinals’ resumption of play will be announced later in the week.
According to MLB Network’s Jon Heyman, at least one more positive COVID-19 test is expected from the Cardinals in their latest round of testing. It’s unclear if the positive case is a player or staff member. On Sunday, manager Mike Shildt revealed that multiple members of the team have had to go to the emergency room because they were experiencing symptoms.
The club has not played since July 29. Due to the Cardinals outbreak as well as the Marlins outbreak earlier this season, the league announced an updated schedule for the teams impacted by positive COVID-19 tests last week, but more changes will have to be made if MLB still intends for the Cardinals to try and play 60 games by late September.
There have already been 27 games postponed because of the coronavirus in the abbreviated 2020 season.
The next scheduled game for the Cardinals is for Thursday, Aug. 13: a doubleheader against the Detroit Tigers.
