Mother Nature Lends Philadelphia Phillies' Starters an Extra Day of Rest

World Series Game 3 between the Philadelphia Phillies and Houston Astros was postponed, but the franchise is used Mother Nature infringing upon their championship hopes.

Author:
Andy Jasner
Oct 31, 2022 9:20 PM EDT

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Philadelphia Phillies

The last time the Philadelphia Phillies won a World Series in 2008, they had to defeat the Tampa Bay Rays and Mother Nature.

A similar situation was brewing Monday before Major League Baseball finally postponed Game 3 of the 2022 World Series shortly after 6:45 p.m. EDT. The weather forecast was ominous, so MLB elected to push Game 3 back 24 hours until Tuesday night with the series tied 1-1 between the Phillies and Houston Astros.

In ’08, with the Phillies leading 3-1 in the World Series, Cole Hamels took the mound for Game 5.

What started as a misty night soon turned into a downpour as the temperature dipped dramatically.

Now, the Phillies wound up winning in five games, but that crazy two-day delay will never be forgotten. For a franchise in search of such an elusive title, having a game suspended in the sixth inning and then having to wait two days was excruciating.

This time, the delay might actually help the Phillies.

It allowed Manager Rob Thomson to swap out Noah Syndergaard for Ranger Suárez, and then go to Aaron Nola for Game 4 on Wednesday.

Imagine if Game 3 had started and it was rained out in the third or fourth inning. Imagine if a player was injured because of the sloppy conditions.

At least MLB made the right decision in the end.

“I think the biggest thing is that they want to play in dry conditions," Thomson said. “They really do. I mean, they will play in the wet. They don't care. But I think everybody would rather just play in dry conditions. We know we're going to get it in. It's going to be fair for everybody and we'll go get it.”

Hamels got it in ’08 when he braved the insane conditions on the mound and the game was suspended in the sixth. The result ultimately wound up with a Most Valuable Player Award for Hamels, a championship, and a parade.

The crowd of nearly 46,000 rabid fans will show up again Tuesday like they have the entire postseason. The weather forecast looks good.

The pitchers all got an extra day off.

While it’s not exactly the same scenario that developed in ’08, Mother Nature is still very much involved with this series.

If the Phillies can manage three more wins, the fans won’t care. They’ll be celebrating once again.