UPDATED: 8 a.m., Thursday, July 29
PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The Phillies are scheduled to play a doubleheader Thursday after Wednesday night's game was postponed because of a COVID-19 outbreak on the Washington Nationals.
Four Nationals players and eight staffers tested positive for the coronavirus. The team said necessary tests and contact tracing were the reason for the postponement.
Nationals Manager Dave Martinez says that was just too much to overcome to get last night's game in. "We tried up to a certain point. And then as we kept getting results back from the rapid tests — we’re missing a lot of guys."
Martinez said those symptoms are minor, comparing them to head colds. "Thus far nobody has gotten very sick, which is a good thing. And I do believe the vaccinations have helped that."
He said maybe only one of those who tested positive was not vaccinated, and he reiterated his view that getting the vaccine is important.
Washington's Trea Turner left Tuesday night's game at Citizens Bank Park early due to a positive COVID-19 test.
After the Phillies held their workouts and batting practice Wednesday afternoon, only a small group of Nationals players came out for a visiting team workout.
Then, as Sportsradio 94WIP's Howard Eskin reports, bases were removed from the field.
This was the ninth MLB game to be postponed this year because of COVID-19 concerns.
About 85% of the Nationals team is fully vaccinated. That means Major League Baseball's COVID-19 protocols and contact tracing are not as strict for those for this team.
The Phillies, however, are one of eight MLB teams that has not reached that mark.
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More testing will take place today, and the hope is to get this doubleheader in. There is some concern, because a negative result on one day doesn’t rule out a positive one the next.
The two teams will play a single-admission doubleheader starting at 12:05 p.m. Thursday, the Phillies said. Gates will open at 11:05 a.m.
Tickets to Wednesday night's game will not be honored. Instead, any fans who purchased tickets and parking passes will receive an account credit to be used for any 2021 Phillies home game, and will receive an e-mail from the team on how to redeem that credit.