Tuesday night’s game between the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies was canceled yet again as a precaution following the Miami Marlins’ coronavirus outbreak within the city over the weekend.
It’s the second-straight night the game between the two sides at Citizens Bank Park was postponed. The teams were set to play a four-game, home-and-home series into Thursday.
No makeup dates have been released as of yet, but the remainder of the games set for Yankee Stadium for Wednesday and Thursday look to be canceled.
Per reports, the Phillies will not play until Friday while the Yankees would head to Baltimore to face the Orioles for a two-game series. The Marlins have also been put on hold until at least Monday
The Phillies would then try to make up those missed games later in the season.
Per MLB Network’s Joel Sherman, the Yankees were “in a holding pattern” in Philadelphia on Tuesday where they were told to expect to go to Baltimore — changing their plan of working out at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday.
The postponements stem from the Marlins’ coronavirus outbreak while they were in Philadelphia over the weekend for their series-opening three-game series. Per previous reports, at least 14 team members tested positive for the virus — including three on Sunday, just hours before their series finale against the Phillies.
On Tuesday, it was reported that four more Marlins players tested positive for the virus, bringing their total estimated number up to at least 18.
Despite the positive tests, the Marlins opted to play, possibly exposing the Phillies to the virus. The Phillies were tested on Monday and results are pending, though MLB Network’s Joel Sherman reported Tuesday morning that no players “so far” have tested positive.
The potential spread to the Phillies is paramount to Major League Baseball’s chances of being able to get through the 2020 season. If protocols properly stymied the spread of the virus and contained it to just the Marlins’ clubhouse, optimism around the viability of the 60-game schedule improves.
If the Phillies — who had multiple COVID-19 cases during the summer — have players who test positive, MLB has a problem. Not to mention the stadium staff and operations members that come in contact with these teams, thus potentially bring the virus into their homes.
