Marlins-Mets opener postponed due to ‘unplayable field conditions’ after lingering weather

The Miami Marlins’ series opener against the New York Mets at Citi Field has been postponed due to “unplayable field conditions.” The game will be made up in a doubleheader Wednesday, with the first game starting at 4:10 p.m. and the second game starting about 45 minutes afterward.

The Mets posted on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter, at 5 p.m. that lingering rain throughout the day Tuesday and the effects of the weather over the past few days from Tropical Storm Ophelia caused what the team initially hoped would just be a delay to the series opener, which was originally scheduled to start at 7:10 p.m.

“[W]e are working hard to get the ballpark ready for tonight,” the post read. “We’ll be delayed starting the game so stay tuned here for further updates.”

At the time of the announcement, the tarp was off the infield, resting in left field, while the groundscrew worked on the infield dirt, which was in rough shape.

“When I first walked out there, it wasn’t great. I would say it was definitely unplayable a couple of hours ago,” Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said at about 5:45 p.m. “You can see they’re working really hard for us to get out there to play the game. I don’t think Buck or I would ever put our players at risk if we think it’s unplayable and would just rather play a doubleheader the next day, but I do feel like they’re doing the best they can you make it playable.”

About two-and-a-half hours later, the game was officially called.

Left-handed pitcher Braxton Garrett (9-6, 3.53 ERA), who was supposed to start on Tuesday, will pitch Game 1 of the doubleheader Wednesday. Miami’s starter for Game 2 is to-be-determined.

The Marlins (81-75) enter the final week of the regular season one game behind the Arizona Diamondbacks and Chicago Cubs (both 82-74) for the National League’s final two wild card spots. Miami plays three games against the Mets — the doubleheader Wednesday and a 7:10 p.m. game Thursday — before capping the regular season on the road with a weekend series against the Pittsburgh Pirates.