CHICAGO — First Mother Nature did not cooperate Monday at Wrigley Field and then neither did the electricity.
What was supposed to have been the first game of a three-game series between the Chicago Cubs and visiting Los Angeles Dodgers has become a day-night doubleheader scheduled for Tuesday when the forecast calls for even more rain.
After nearly a three-hour delay Monday, Monday’s series opener was postponed due to a combination of stormy weather and a limited power outage inside Wrigley Field that kept lights in right field from being fully operational.
“We are going to be actively working on this issue tonight,” Cubs vice president of communications Julian Green told reporters, according to the Chicago Tribune. “We plan to have the ballpark fully operational by tomorrow.”
Whether the rains hold off long enough to get both games in, however, remains in question.
“Being able to at least get one of those games in tomorrow, even with the forecast equally as dicey Ed Oliver Jersey , is important,” Green said.
Before the final determination was made to postpone Monday’s game, it appeared the bank of lights in right field might cooperate only to fail once again.
“They thought they had a chance,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters, according to the Los Angeles Times. “But once they went out again, they made the final decision.”
Monday’s game will be rescheduled for 12 p.m. CT before Tuesday’s regularly scheduled game will be played at 7:05 p.m.
Monday’s scheduled Dodgers starter, Kenta Maeda will pitch in the first of the doubleheader on Tuesday and is coming off a no-decision, which came in his first start since coming off a hip injury.
Maeda (4-4 http://www.billscheapshop.com/cheap-authentic-cody-ford-jersey , 3.61 ERA) had been pitching extremely well before the hip injury on May 29. Maeda had thrown 14 2/3 scoreless innings with 20 strikeouts in his two previous starts before the injury. Maeda will make his first career start against the Cubs.
Rich Hill is scheduled to start for the Dodgers in Tuesday’s nightcap.
Hill will return from the disabled list after missing nearly a month due to recurring blisters. He last pitched May 19 in Washington before exiting with a blister after throwing two pitches.
In six starts this season, Hill is 1-2 with a 6.20 ERA. He is 1-0 with an 0.82 ERA in a pair of postseason starts against the Cubs but last faced them in the regular season as a reliever for the Boston Red Sox on May 21, 2011.
After having his start pushed back a day, Tyler Chatwood (3-5. 4.12) will attempt to get on track Tuesday afternoon against the Dodgers. Chatwood is seeking his first win since May 11 and allowed four runs over five innings in his last outing against the Milwaukee Brewers. Chatwood has struggled with walks all season and has walked at least four in four of his past five outings.
Chatwood is 5-9 with a 4.07 ERA in 15 career starts against the Dodgers.
Mike Montgomery is scheduled to pitch the nightcap for the Cubs.
Montgomery is making his fifth start of the season and is 2-1 with a 1.14 ERA as a starting pitcher. He last pitched Wednesday in Milwaukee when he allowed one run on two hits in six innings of a 1-0 loss.
He is 0-0 with a 4.15 ERA in three outings against the Dodgers.
The Dodgers and Cubs are both coming off successful weekends when they took two of three games from the San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals, respectively. As the Dodgers look to get back on track after having their five-game winning streak snapped on Sunday, they received encouraging news that ace Clayton Kershaw could return to the rotation as early as this weekend, the Los Angeles Times reported Monday.
Kershaw threw a simulated game on Monday and could make his return either against the New York Mets or in a minor-league rehab start. Roberts told reporters that Kershaw would prefer to pitch at the big-league level.
“Clayton is going to be more on the aggressive side, which we all know and appreciated Devin Singletary Jersey ,” Roberts said. “But we’re going to have a conversation with the training staff, the front office and really try to figure out what makes the most sense for him and for us.”
The Cubs could get Javier Baez back for Tuesday. Baez left Sunday’s 5-0 loss at St. Louis with a left elbow contusion after being hit by a pitch Baez was not in the lineup before Monday’s game was postponed and did not need x-rays.
