PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Concerns raised by Andrew McCutchen (with Jason Mackey of the Post-Gazette) and Austin Hedges on 93.7 The Fan, the Pirates and MLB paused the start of the game on Thursday afternoon as they considered the impact of the air quality at PNC Park.
There seemed to be a lot of confusion inside the ballpark as all appeared to the fans they would keep the scheduled 12:35p first pitch. The team went through normal pregame rituals including a team announcer saying we're ready for some baseball. As that was being done, the grounds crew, who had previously put a tarp on the pitchers mound, gathered to put one on home plate. Meanwhile there were no announcements until past starting time even though the field and dugouts were cleared.
There was eventually an announcement they were delaying the game as they considered the air quality.
Around 12:45p Pirates starting catcher Jason Delay came out of the dugout followed by starting pitcher Luis Ortiz, they eventually announced the game would start at 1:20p. They also released the following statement.
"After collaborative discussions between Major League Baseball, the Major League Baseball Players Association, our team of expert medical providers at Allegheny Health Network, our players and staff, we have made the decision to move forward with our game today. We will continue to closely monitor the air quality index levels around the ballpark and respond accordingly."
It's the final game of the three-game series, obvious concerns from MLB of trying to get two teams together from opposite coasts for a potential makeup game.
