WASHINGTON – When it rained on Sunday in the top of the sixth inning of the Washington Nationals’ game against the Baltimore Orioles, it really ran on the dirt of the field because the crew of the ground had trouble rolling the giant tarp that was used to protect the diamond.
The cover was twisted so that the 15 members of the Nationals Park crew needed more than 15 minutes to get the whole thing spread over the dirt – and even then it was upside down, with a sponsor logo to the ground.
There were large spaces between the bases.
In general, a process usually took just over 20 minutes to complete in just a few minutes for the tarp to place properly. And then the shower was done anyway and the sun peeked through the clouds.
The Orioles led 5-2 when the delay came after scoring all of their goals in the fifth inning against Stephen Strasburg, the World Series MVP who returned from a nervous breakdown in his pitching hand to make his season debut. .
The game was eventually stopped with the same score. It will restart Friday at Camden Yards in Baltimore, but the Nationals will remain the home team.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
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