Barring a significant change, the Miami Marlins and New York Mets will take the field on Monday after every other team has finished its regular season, in order to play one inning of baseball.
How did we get there? Let's go through a timeline (all times ET).
The Marlins entered Thursday's game with a chance to take a big step forward in the NL wild-card race thanks to the Chicago Cubs' loss to the Atlanta Braves. The Mets, long eliminated from the playoffs, had nothing to play for. The Marlins currently have a half-game lead over the Cubs, and the tiebreaker, for the third wild-card spot.
The game stayed scoreless thanks to brilliant outings from the Marlins' Jesus Luzardo and the Mets' David Peterson until...
9:19 p.m.: Mets outfielder Rafael Ortega, a journeyman for the last decade, hits an RBI single to score a runner left by Luzardo in the bottom of the eighth inning.
9:32 p.m.: Needing a run, Marlins center fielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. doubles with a man on base to tie the game 1-1 and put the lead run in scoring position.
9:36 p.m.: Pinch-hitter Yuli Gurriel follows Chisholm with a single to take the lead, turning a deflating loss into a potentially massive win.
A FLIP OF THE SCRIPT IN THE 9TH. pic.twitter.com/o3RQ2rtNCd
— Miami Marlins (@Marlins) September 29, 2023
And then it started raining.
Rain has been a pest for the Marlins since they entered New York for this series, as they were previously put in a disadvantageous position when the Mets grounds crew was unable to get Citi Field into playing shape after rain on Tuesday. That turned Wednesday into a doubleheader — likely costing the Marlins a Braxton Garrett start in the process — but that was just the warm-up act for Thursday.
9:41 p.m.: After a couple of minutes of strong rains, the umpires suspend the game with men on first and second and two outs in the top of the ninth, with the Marlins leading 2-1.
It was at this point that a wild scenario was in play, as rule 7.02 (b)(4)(A) dictates that if a game is called due to rain and unable to be completed, the score will be reverted to the last completed inning, which would have given the Mets a 1-0 win.
Fortunately, MLB very much did not want that to happen. The league proceeded to wait two hours and 40 minutes hoping for a break in the rain.
12:21 a.m.: The Mets grounds crew starts moving the infield tarp, inspiring hope that the game might finally be finished before the break of dawn. That tarp was moved to left field, where it would remain until...
12:37 a.m.: The tarp is put back on. The game will not be finished. It was around this time that Marlins manager Skip Schumaker started getting very angry, or at least started showing his anger.
Manager Skip Schumaker in visible frustration over the way things have been handled tonight pic.twitter.com/TrqrvnNhMn
— Bally Sports Florida: Marlins (@BallyMarlins) September 29, 2023
At another point, the Marlins X account (née Twitter) officially changed its bio to "We have a roof."
12:59 a.m.: The game is officially suspended.
At this point MLB had a few options, including rule 7.02 (b)(4)(A). The Marlins are set to travel to finish their season on the road against the Pittsburgh Pirates, while the Mets will face the Philadelphia Phillies at home, assuming New York City isn't underwater by then. The league could have decided to finish the game Friday and introduce a doubleheader into both team's weekend series. Or...
1:01 a.m.: The other option, which Marlins general manager Kim Ng told reporters that MLB said is likely happening, is to have the Marlins travel back to New York after the Pittsburgh series and finish the game on Monday, via Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald:
"Without getting into the details, obviously this is an unfortunate incident. Right now, we're being told that we'll have to play [the suspended game] on Monday."
MLB will probably call off those plans if the game's result has no bearing on the wild-card race, but if the Marlins are forced to play that inning on Monday and make the playoffs as the third wild card, their reward will be a wild-card series opener against the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday.
There was at least one winner in this, though: the San Diego Padres, who would have been knocked out with a Marlins win, got to stave off elimination for one more day.
