Suspended game forces long day for Diamondbacks, Reds

The Arizona Diamondbacks and Cincinnati Reds won’t play two on Saturday, but they will try to play more than one.

The opener of the three-game series in Cincinnati was suspended because of rain on Friday night with the score tied 3-3 heading to the top of the seventh inning.

The game will resume on Saturday at 2:10 p.m. ET, and the regularly scheduled game will start 40 minutes following the end of the suspended game, but not prior to the regularly scheduled time of 4:10 p.m. ET.

Rain is also forecast throughout the weekend, however.

The Reds climbed out of a 3-0 hole and tied the score 3-3 on a solo home run by Christian Encarnacion-Strand in the bottom of the sixth on Friday night. They had Jose Trevino on third base later in the inning as rain poured down, but they couldn’t get the go-ahead run home in what would have been an official game.

Who will pitch for either team when the game resumes was unknown, but Arizona right-hander Ryne Nelson is set to return to the rotation in the second game.

Nelson is taking the spot of former NL Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes, who will have Tommy John surgery next week, Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo announced on Friday.

Burnes left with two outs in the fifth inning of a 3-1 win against the Washington Nationals on Sunday.

“I don’t have the exact diagnosis or exact details, I just know that Tommy John involves a ligament and it’s compromised and he needs to have the procedure,” Lovullo said. “So, we’re all with Corbin right now. This is a tough day to get this news, but we’ll find a way to rally around him and play hard for him all year long.”

Nelson (2-1, 3.43 ERA) had just moved to the bullpen last weekend ahead of left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez’s return from the 15-day IL for a start on Friday. Rodriguez tossed five innings of two-run ball.

Nelson was a full-time starter for the Diamondbacks the past two seasons, but 10 of his 13 appearances this season have been out of the bullpen.

“I take pride every time I get the ball, no matter what the situation is or what the score is,” Nelson said. “I’m going out there to do my job no matter what it is.

Nelson is riding a streak of 11 2/3 shutout innings over his past three appearances.

He most recently threw four innings of shutout relief in an 11-7 loss to the visiting Nationals on May 31. His last start came on May 26, when he threw 6 2/3 shutout innings in a 5-0 win against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Nelson has never faced Cincinnati in his career.

The Reds should have shortstop Elly De La Cruz available after he missed the start of the Friday game because of delays returning from his sister’s funeral in the Dominican Republic.

“He was actually trying to get here in time for the game, but one of his flights got canceled, so he’s getting here later,” Cincinnati manager Terry Francona said pregame.

Added Nick Martinez, who is set to start on the mound for the Reds on Saturday, “He’s our guy.”

Martinez (3-6, 3.89 ERA) dropped his most recent start after allowing five runs and seven hits in 4 2/3 innings of a 7-3 loss to the Chicago Cubs on Sunday.

Martinez has made 13 appearances against Arizona in his career, including one start, going 1-0 with two saves and a 4.26 ERA.

Diamondbacks catcher Gabriel Moreno left just prior to the rain delay after taking an errant pitch off his bare hand. Moreno was removed for precautionary reasons, and X-rays were negative, according to Lovullo.

The hand was beginning to swell, so the team will monitor that Saturday morning, Lovullo said.

–Field Level Media