Play ball (eventually)!

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An hour after the tarp was placed on the field at Citizens Bank Park, the infield remained covered as Major League Baseball officials waited out a pair of rain bands. Weather forecasters called for the skies over the ballpark to clear at about 9 p.m. EDT, an hour after the game was scheduled to start. It will take some time to get the field ready for play, however, meaning a new start time for Game 3 of the World Series won’t be announced for another hour or so.

Despite the storm, the temperature is unseasonably warm, around 70 degrees. This morning’s forecast called for a 70% chance of rain at game time.

Baseball officials are being extra cautious with the weather this year following last year’s debacle in Philadelphia when Game 5 of the World Series was started in heavy rains. The game was eventually stopped after five innings but not before parts of the infield had turned into a swamp. The game, and the World Series, were eventually finished 48 hours later with the Phillies beating the Tampa Bay Rays.

-- Kevin Baxter