Rain, rain just won't go away
Twenty-four hours.
One full day.
While riding out a second storm Friday at Wrigley Field, the Cubs made an announcement that they now have "enjoyed" a full 24 hours of rain delays this season.
We're not sure if that's a milestone to be celebrated or not, but the Cubs have endured some doozies this season, including a 6-hour, 31-minute delay over a couple of days with the Giants last month that prompted a protest.
There were a pair of delays Friday, forcing the suspension of the Cubs' game against the Pirates until 2 p.m. Saturday. The two teams already are scheduled for a 3 p.m. Saturday game.
The suspended contest will resume in the top of the seventh inning with the scored tied at 3-3.
"I don't know if you ever get used to it," said Cubs manager Rick Renteria. "I think it was a sound decision. We have some more weather coming. I think it was the right thing to do for everyone."
Friday was a strange one all the way around. Shortly after 3 p.m., the skies darkened and the wind whipped up. Umpires called for the grounds crew to put the tarp down. That delay lasted 37 minutes, but most of the water blew over.
After play resumed, the clouds opened suddenly about 4:25, prompting another delay. It rained off and on, but umpires eventually inspected the field and suspended the game.
Renteria has been asked to reflect on his first year as manager. He said the weather has been a hallmark.
"You guys keep asking me if there's anything in my first year as a manager, and today I was thinking about it," he said. "After the first rain delay, I thought, 'This is what's been different.' It's something that we have to deal with obviously. Not me, those guys (the players). The players are the ones who have to deal with all the delays and getting up and sitting down and getting ready.
"They've doe a great job, actually. They've dealt with it with the least amount of complaints, quite frankly. They could very easily use it as something to complain about."
As far as the game itself, the Cubs lost starting pitcher Tsuyoshi Wada in the fourth inning because of "mild left-calf cramping." He gave up 3 hits in 3⅓ innings, and the Pirates scored twice in the fourth to take a 3-2 lead.
"No problem at all right now," Wada said afterward through his translator. "This was something that I experienced in Japan in the past as well. So I just felt that it kind of came up again."
The Cubs scored twice in the third inning, getting a sacrifice fly from Jorge Soler and scoring another run on an error. They tied the game in the fifth on an RBI single by Chris Valaika.
For Soler, he has recorded at least 1 RBI in seven of his first eight big-league games. He is the first player since Buddy Blair of the 1942 Philadelphia Athletics to record at least 1 RBI and / or 1 extra-base hit in each of his first eight career games.
Soler also had an assist from right field in the sixth, throwing out Jose Tabata trying to stretch a single into a double.