Baseball debuts in New York and Philadelphia were pushed up a day to Friday due to inclement forecasts in both cities.
Pete Alonso and the New York Mets were scheduled to face the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday afternoon, which marked the first full slate of big league games this season. The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres began their season with a two-game series in Seoul, South Korea, last week.
However, with rain predicted in Queens for much of Thursday, the Mets announced Wednesday that the game would be rescheduled for Friday at 1:40 p.m.
Minutes later, the Philadelphia Phillies announced that their sold-out opening versus NL East rival Atlanta Braves had been rescheduled until Friday at 3:05 p.m. due to expected rain.
“I’d rather play when it’s safe for the guys, obviously,” said new Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy. “Our pitching is somewhat of a changing target, you know? To be honest, it’s good to have those days off in between. But you’ve got to do whatever you have to do.”
On Wednesday, both New York and Milwaukee worked out at Citi Field under an overcast sky.
“Obviously, everybody’s anxious to get going,” Murphy remarked. “But it’s a six-month season, and players who know better, who have been around — even if there are only a few of ’em — that’s all part of it. “They get it.”
Murphy took over the defending NL Central champions after manager Craig Counsell left for the rival Chicago Cubs this offseason.
Carlos Mendoza, a former Yankees bench coach, has been appointed to replace Buck Showalter by new president of baseball operations David Stearns, who formerly led the Brewers despite growing up a Mets fan in New York City.
“It’s getting real,” Mendoza warned on Wednesday, before the opener was postponed. “There will be a lot of emotions and I’m really looking forward to it.”
After dealing No. 1 starter Corbin Burnes, a three-time All-Star and the 2021 NL Cy Young Award winner, the Brewers give Freddy Peralta his first career opener.
The Mets will be led by Jose Quintana, with 2023 NL Rookie of the Year runner-up Kodai Senga out due to a shoulder ailment. Senga has lately resumed playing catch, but he is not expected to return until late April or May, possibly later.
Quintana was born in Colombia and became an American citizen last week.
“I’d rather have it be a nicer day than opening in weather that you have to get pitchers up and then lose pitchers because of the weather,” said the 65-year-old Murphy. “How it impacts me is unimportant. What about anxiousness? No, I’m too old to be anxious.”
When the Phillies and Braves meet on Friday, right-handers Zack Wheeler and Spencer Strider will face off in a key NL East showdown.
The Braves, led by reigning NL MVP Ronald Acuña Jr., have finished 14 games ahead of Philadelphia for the past two years. However, the Phillies ended Atlanta’s postseason in Game 4 of a Division Series at Citizens Bank Park both times.
BREWERS’ UPDATE
Milwaukee left-hander Wade Miley faced off against teammates in simulated at-bats at Citi Field. Miley will be placed on the injured list after being hampered this spring by shoulder discomfort and a groin issue. He plans to make his season debut during the April 8-11 series in Cincinnati.
METS UPDATE:
J.D. Martinez, a veteran slugger signed late in spring training, remained at the team’s Florida facilities when New York broke camp. The 36-year-old designated hitter is working his way into game shape by jogging the bases and taking simulated at-bats against his new colleagues.
Mendoza said he will stay in Port St. Lucie, Florida, for at least a week to ten days until Martinez and the team decide what to do next. He’s not anticipated to make his Mets debut until at least April 7.
“When we get him, it’s going to be a lot deeper lineup,” Mendoza told reporters.
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