ALCS Game Two Slated For Monday Afternoon
ARLINGTON (AP/CBSDFW) – The Texas Rangers are ready to get back to work after heavy rains delayed much of their weekend plans of beating the Detroit Tigers.
The teams, who are battling in the American League Championship Series, will play again Monday afternoon. First pitch is slated for 3:19 p.m. at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.
Saturday's Game 1 was delayed twice in the top of the fifth inning for a total of 1 hour, 50 minutes. The Rangers went on to win that game 3-2.
Sunday's scheduled start time for Game 2 was postponed to Monday because of the continued rain and soggy conditions at the Ballpark.
At the time of the scheduled first pitch Sunday, there were mostly overcast skies, though the sun had tried to peek through the clouds just before then. There was rain to the East but none at Rangers Ballpark, where the tarp covered the field. The only water visible were a few puddles on the warning track against the wall after the field had been inundated by a constant rain.
But officials were wary of a repeat of what happened Saturday.
"We felt with the forecast that we had that we didn't want to experience what we did last night. ... With the forecast for this evening, it appears that it's going to be a duplication of what we saw," Rangers president Nolan Ryan said. "The one thing we're concerned about is the integrity of the game and not put either team in a situation where possibly the elements could affect the outcome of the game."
The forecast Monday called for only a 10 percent chance of rain. Read Jeff Ray's Monday Forecast
The rain delays Saturday night were the first at Rangers Ballpark since May 24. This season was played during one of the hottest and driest summers in North Texas, including 27 games when the temperature was 100 degrees or more at first pitch.
Because of the delay, the Rangers and Tigers will lose their travel day with Game 3 still set for Tuesday in Detroit.
Derek Holland pitches Monday for the Rangers.
Holland planned to use the extra time to rest, review video of himself and the Detroit hitters and go through all his other pre-start routines, from playing a hockey game on his Xbox to watching a chunk of the movie "For Love of the Game."
"Getting this extra day of rest is the more important thing, especially to clear up some of the sinus stuff that I've got going on," Holland said, later stressing that his sniffles were no big deal. "I can just kind of relax and watch more video. Maybe I'll pick up something that I didn't see before. So that's a good thing to have, too."
After Game 2 was postponed Sunday, Detroit manager Jim Leyland announced the Tigers lost their second starting outfielder for the series.
Magglio Ordonez is out for the rest of the season after he re-fractured his right ankle, which was surgically repaired in July 2010.
"Magglio had just been talking three or four days ago about how he felt great, how he felt as good as he's felt for a long time," Leyland said.
The Tigers were already without Delmon Young, who was listed with a left oblique injury.
Anyone with tickets Sunday's Game 2 will be able to use them for Monday. As of 9:00 a.m. Monday morning tickets were still available on texasrangers.com and on stubhub.com.
(Editor's note: If you're looking for Rangers playoffs gear, the CBSDFW.COM Fan Shop has everything you could ask for.)
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
