The Baltimore Orioles were set to take on the Los Angeles Dodgers Wednesday afternoon, but the 1:05 first pitch had to be delayed by nearly an hour over issues with the field.
According to the The Baltimore Sun, grounds crews were tasked with readying the infield after the tarp was left off during overnight rains that stretched from Tuesday night into Wednesday morning. In the end, the game was delayed 41 minutes.
The Orioles announced the delay 50 minutes before start time.
“The grounds crew had to do a lot of work on the infield. Yes, it’s unfortunate that the tarp was not placed on last night — we had a surprise storm — but this grounds crew did pretty amazing work to make this only a 40-minute delay to get this field in playable condition,” MASN play-by-play broadcaster Kevin Brown said during the first inning. “They were nonstop for hours today.”
Baltimore manager Brandon Hyde and Los Angeles’ Dave Roberts both conferred with the grounds crew throughout the delay to check for updates. Eventually, they and fans received word the game was scheduled to begin at 1:45 p.m. as the grounds crew added a layer of dirt and raked the infield.
First pitch was thrown at 1:46 p.m.
