Pirates Honor Fans Following Rain Delay

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates honored their fans, after they sat through a long delay in their most recent game.

The Pirates and Houston Astros originally had a scheduled first pitch for 6:40 p.m. at PNC Park on June 5, but storms and heavy rain through the Pittsburgh area forced a rain delay.

First pitch moved up three hours and 20 minutes to 10:00 p.m. before both teams got a chance to play, the longest rain delay for the Pirates this season.

The Pirates eventually lost to the Astros, 8-2, with the game taking two hours and 24 minutes, ending at 12:26 a.m., almost six hours after the originally scheduled first pitch.

While waiting that long of time for a game to start is not ideal for anyone, the Pirates made sure that they gave the fans something for attending the contest.

The Pirates announced that any fan that scanned their ticket will get two complimentary tickets to any remaining Monday-Thursday game this season. They also told fans to check their email for the offer so they could redeem it.

This is the second time the Pirates have made this offer for fans, doing so in the previous rain delay on May 22 against the Milwaukee Brewers.

That rain delay took place during the game, with the Pirates trailing 5-3 in the bottom of the sixth inning, and last almost two hours before play resumed. The Pirates would lose that game 8-5, ending an MLB record of 26 games with four runs or less scored and avoided breaking that record.

The Pirates have had six rain delays this season, with the first five coming during May, and none have resulted in cancellations.

Pittsburgh had back-to-back rain delays against the San Diego Padres at PNC Park on May 2 and May 3.

The first rain delay moved the start from 6:40 to 7:50, a 70 minute delay, and the second game got moved from 4:05 p.m. to 5:45 p.m., an hour and 40 minute delay.

The Pirates also had two rain delays on a mid-month road trip. They had a 15 minute delay vs. the New York Mets at Citi Park on May 14, moving first pitch from 7:10 p.m. to 7:25 p.m., and an hour and 45 minute delay vs. the Philadelphia Phillies on May 16, which moved first pitch from 6:45 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Pittsburgh fans will hope that the upcoming series vs. the Phillies is drier and that there aren't any lengthy rain delays incoming.