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Phillies and Blue Jays postpone weekend series due to Covid-19
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The Philadelphia Phillies have been directly affected by the outbreak of the Miami Marlins coronavirus. The Phillies played the Marlins at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia last weekend before Miami test results yielded more than a dozen positive tests on Monday. On Thursday, the Phillies had their weekend series against the Blue Jays postponed, according to Toronto manager Charlie Montoyo. The programming change occurred shortly after the Phillies announced their latest round of coronavirus test results.
Test results for Phillies players were negative, but two staff members, a coach and a clubhouse staff member, tested positive. The Phillies canceled all training scheduled for Thursday and will not face the Blue Jays at Citizens Bank Park this weekend.
Here is the full statement from the team:
The Phillies have received the results of yesterday’s tests. While no player tested positive for Covid-19, there were two staff members who tested positive. One is a member of the coaching staff and the other is a member of the clubhouse staff. All activity at Citizens Bank Park has been canceled today and until further notice.
The Phillies, who also postponed their four-game series against the Yankees this week, were slated to play the Blue Jays for three games this weekend in Philadelphia. MLB initially postponed Friday’s game and scheduled a double game for Saturday, but now the entire series has moved.
The Blue Jays were supposed to be the “home” team for the series as they wait for their 2020 ballpark in Buffalo to prepare for MLB. The Canadian government decided not to allow the Blue Jays to play 2020 home games in Toronto earlier this month.
The Phillies’ next scheduled game is Tuesday against the Marlins in Miami. The Marlins haven’t played since Sunday either and remain in quarantine in Philadelphia.
Players have been told that if they were exposed to COVID-19 when facing the Marlins, the positive evidence would appear between Thursday and Saturday, according to Jayson Stark of The Athletic. According to the CDC, the incubation period (the time from exposure to the development of symptoms) of the coronavirus varies from 2 to 14 days.
