The National League Wild Card race is a tight one in which the Miami Marlins and Chicago Cubs have the most favorable chances of securing the final spot in the post season. Unfortunately for the Marlins their road to the playoffs potentially just got tougher as their game against the New York Mets was postponed until Monday, October 2 if necessary.
A lot went down in the later stages of the Mets and Marlins game on Thursday night. Miami, who was trailing one run to zero entering the ninth inning, took the lead by scoring two runs before rain stopped play. They did not get to finish the top of the ninth inning before a three hour and 17 minute delay occurred. At one point the tarp was off the field, but went right back on shortly after.
During the rain delay Marlins manager Skip Schumaker was seen on the field arguing with officials. He believed there were a few windows in which they could have potentially finished the game. The Mets decided that the ground underneath the tarp was too wet and now this game will have to finish up on Monday if necessary.
How does the Miami Marlins and New York Mets game being suspended impact the National League playoff race? (MLB News)
For Marlins fans this game being suspended impacts them the most. Had they held on to win Thursday night a win in Pittsburgh on Friday paired with a Chicago Cubs loss against the Milwaukee Brewers would have secured them a post season spot. Now the earliest they can clinch is Saturday and the Wild Card standings remain a mess.
There are numerous scenarios in which the Marlins may have to travel back to New York on Monday to finish out one inning of baseball. Should that occur and it results in them clinching a playoff spot they would then have to travel to either Milwaukee or Philadelphia to begin the Wild Card Series on Tuesday. On the flip side of all of this the Brewers or Phillies may not know who their opponent is until a day after all of the other post season teams.
All of this makes for a very intriguing weekend of baseball. Miami does have a favorable match up against the Pirates this weekend, but the Cubs are playing the Brewers and despite having an opportunity to knock out their division rivals they have already announced that two of their main starting pitchers will rest this weekend. It will be interesting to see what ends up happening.
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