Rays-Orioles game postponed by rain

BALTIMORE (AP) A miserable April night at Camden Yards ended with the seemingly inevitable postponement of a game between the Tampa Bay Rays and Baltimore Orioles.

The Orioles were seeking to match the best start in their history, 5-0 in 1970. They ended up settling for being the lone remaining unbeaten team in the majors.

A makeup date was not immediately announced. Tampa Bay's next series in Baltimore is June 24-26.

The weather was cold and rainy for much of the day, and the forecast for the 7:05 p.m. game time was 39 degrees with a 50 percent chance of precipitation.

''It's going to be cold,'' Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. ''But we play games. It's what we do.''

Rays manager Kevin Cash wondered late in the afternoon whether it was worth even attempting to try to play in such conditions.

''Twenty mile-an-hour winds for a baseball game is not the most comforting feeling,'' Cash said. ''But both teams are playing in it. We'll adjust.''

After the Orioles took batting practice, the grounds crew covered the field with a tarp. The rain stopped around 7 o'clock, and play was scheduled to begin at 7:40.

But another freezing rain shower brought the tarp back on at 7:38, and not long after that the game was called.

The teams will attempt to complete the abbreviated two-game series on Sunday. Since the scheduled starting pitchers Saturday went through their warmups, both managers opted to use their regularly scheduled starters for Sunday - Jake Odorozzi will pitch for Tampa Bay and Vance Worley will make his Orioles debut.

Claimed off waivers from Pittsburgh in October, Worley will be making his 82nd career start, the first against the Rays.

Odorizzi is coming off a 111-pitch, 10-strikeout performance against Toronto.

The Orioles hope to have center fielder Adam Jones and shortstop J.J. Hardy back in the lineup. Jones has missed two games with a sore ribcage and Hardy was out Friday night with strained left calf.

Neither player was in the starting lineup Saturday because of the cold weather.

Steve Pearce was slated to bat fifth and play first base for Tampa Bay in what was going to be his first game at Camden Yards since he left the Orioles for the Rays during the offseason.

Pearce came to Baltimore in 2012 and was a key contributor to the 2013 AL East champions.

''Always could count on him,'' Showalter said. ''He's a big part of lot of the improvements we made.''