CLEVELAND, Ohio — Sunday’s scheduled 3:10 p.m. game between the Guardians and Astros will not begin on time. Cleveland announced at 2:30 p.m. that the game is in a rain delay and that the two clubs would revisit a potential start time within an hour.
Rainy conditions are expected to persist in northeast Ohio through 8 p.m. according to the National Weather Service.
The Guardians (92-69) are the American League Central Division champions and have locked up the No. 2 seed in the AL playoffs. Houston (88-73) is locked into the No. 3 seed as the AL West champs.
The only matter left to be settled by playing a 162nd game is whether or not José Ramírez can hit a home run and become just the seventh member of the 40/40 club. It is a distinction that Ramírez clearly wants to reach.
Guardians manager Stephen Vogt and Astros manager Joe Espada joined Cleveland exectuives and grounds crew members who met for more than 10 minutes on the field before an announcement was made that the game would begin in a delay.
Vogt told reporters during his pregame availability that Ramírez’s 40/40 pursuit would be the storyline of the day.
“I don’t think any of us will be shocked if he goes out and hits a double and a homer in his first two at bats,” Vogt said. “It’s just who he is.”
In reflecting on Ramírez’s season, Vogt said there were several potential home run balls that Ramírez hit that ended up being near misses.
“You think about the four or five balls that Wilyer Abreu robbed from him over the course of that week against Boston, the triple off the top of the wall in Colorado, the triple off the top of the wall the other day,” Vogt said. “We just kind of reflected over his season and he really already has it, if you think about it.”
But what Ramírez has accomplished can not be taken away or diminished by the lack of one final chance.
“One of the favorite parts of this job is watching him every single day be the same person playing the game the right way, going about his business, playing the game to win and your numbers will be there at the end of the year,” Vogt said. “He’s the epitome and example of that, and it’s so great that our young players get to watch.”
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