Philly Plain Dealer

Thursday night’s Phillies vs. Braves game in the suburbs of Atlanta was paused after the 6th inning due to an incredibly long rain delay. The game was paused for 2 hours and 45 minutes according to the Phillies broadcast, but then resumed a bit after 11:30pm. 

In the MLB, a game can be called for rain under the following circumstances:

“If a regulation game is terminated early due to weather, the results are considered final if the home team is leading. If the home team is trailing, the results are considered final if the game is not in the midst of an inning when the visiting team has taken the lead.

If a regulation game is terminated early due to weather and the game is either tied or in the midst of an inning in which the visiting team has taken the lead, it becomes a suspended game that will be completed at a later date from the point of termination.”

In this case, the game was tied 1-1 after the sixth inning so the Braves and Phillies had no option other than to wait in the clubhouse and watch the weather radar for nearly 3 hours. 

It’s rare that MLB fans get late-night finishes or baseball after midnight (without a time zone change), since the inception of the pitch clock and the childish extra-inning base runner rule. Sometimes fans will see late-night baseball in the playoffs, but late-night baseball in April is an utter treat.

These rules were added to MLB baseball games in an attempt to speed up the game to make it more commercially viable. However, Mother Nature spit in the face of commercial viability and gave baseball fans 53 minutes of Friday Morning Baseball. Not only was the game delayed for 2 hours and 45 minutes, the game was tied at 1-1 forcing 2 full innings of bonus baseball. 

The average MLB game in 2024 was 2 hours and 36 minutes long, the shortest average game time since 1984. This Phillies-Braves game started at 7:15pm, meaning it should have ended at 9:51pm, instead the game took 5 hours and 38 minutes ending at 12:53am.

As for the baseball itself, the Phillies played an incredibly lackluster five innings of baseball after the rain delay. Strikeouts, pop outs, and walks were the story of the Phillies at-bats after midnight – none were particularly exciting. The bullpen did their job for the most part, with the exception of Joe Ross. By the grace of god the Phils were able to score one pity run in the 11th inning which could have won the game.

I call this a “pity run” because the Phillies had their stupid extra-inning baserunner, then JT Realmuto was intentionally walked, followed by two unintentional walks to Stott and Rojas which pushed our unearned baserunner Nick Castellanos home to go up 2-1. The Phillies couldn’t have done less to score. 

After the Phillies go up, they put in Joe Ross who immediately collapses by giving up a double to the first batter to tie the game and then throws an 85 mph slider to Marcell Ozuna who launched the ball into outer space. After the walk off, Ozuna mean-mugged and showboated around the bases leaving many Phillies fans hopeful that Ozuna will get hit by a pitch in Friday evening’s game which starts at 8:15pm. 

Ultimately the Phillies lost the game in dramatic fashion in front of a crowd of one or two thousand fans, most of which were Phillies fans who refused to let the trip to the hideous mini-mall that the Braves call “The Battery District” go to waste.

After the game, the Braves blasted an air horn at Truist Park for a comically long amount of time, especially at 12:53am, making the post-game sign off impossible to comprehend. This was a huge disruption in my home at 12:53am.

Baseball can be so incredibly tedious and regimented that it becomes its most interesting when oddities take place. I love late-night baseball because it’s not supposed to happen. The only reason it happened was because the game was tied. Baseball is rooted in tradition and modern MLB-leadership is so focused on making the game fast and watchable, there is nothing I love to see more than a slow and unwatchable game like last night.