Editorials

Anderson And Rollins Found Difficulty In Playing Amid Rainy Weather

Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

The start of Friday’s series opener between the Colorado Rockies and Los Angeles Dodgers was delayed by one hour and four minutes. With the Dodgers leading 2-1 with the bases loaded and one out in the sixth inning, the game entered another rain delay.

After a one-hour and 40-minute wait, the Dodgers had the ever-so-rare road win that’s routinely escaped them this season. The time between the delays was spent playing on a soggy field that couldn’t slow the Dodgers in the first inning as they jumped out to a 2-0 lead.



Following the win, Jimmy Rollins compared the rain to that he played through in the 2008 World Series during his time with the Philadelphia Phillies and discussed the difficulty in locating a ball hit in the air, via J.P. Hoornstra of the LA Daily News:

The (2008) World Series rain had bigger drops,” Rollins said. “But when the ball went up (Friday) you couldn’t really see it.”

In an unprecedented decision, Game 5 of the 2008 World Series was suspended in the bottom of the sixth inning. Poor weather didn’t allow for the Oct. 27 game to be concluded until Oct. 29. As for Brett Anderson, who earned a complete-game win, he expressed surprise the game managed to be played:

I can’t believe we played through the fifth,” Anderson said. “That was probably the hardest rain I’ve ever been a part of.”

As someone who has suffered more than a fair share of injuries, Anderson said it wasn’t something he could afford to keep on his mind, according to Ken Gurnick of MLB.com:

You can’t really think about that, or you’ll be hesitant and you could hurt yourself worse,” he said. “But it was weird circumstances.”

Anderson navigated the situation well, with his only visible issue coming in the bottom of the sixth when he slipped after delivering a pitch to Charlie Blackmon. The at-bat ended in a walk and Blackmon was later thrown out at home plate on a close play.

The Dodgers and Rockies played in similar conditions during a June game at Coors Field last season that also went into the bottom of the sixth before entering a delay. Clayton Kershaw started and earned his first of five complete-game victories in 2014.

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Brett Anderson Encouraged By Results And Health


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