PHILADELPHIA — Game 3 of the World Series was delayed before it ever started Saturday night by a storm system that brought heavy rain and gusty winds to the area.
“We’re going to play baseball tonight,” commissioner Bud Selig said at 8 p.m. EDT, half an hour before Tampa Bay and Philadelphia were scheduled to begin. The Rays and Phillies were tied at one game each.
“The front is going through. We have three different weather services, and we’ve been talking to them all day,” he said.
The National Weather Service said the rain was to taper off after midnight. At about 9:20 p.m., the grounds crew removed the tarp, but rain was still falling and a projected start time was not immediately announced. Phillies starter Jamie Moyer walked across the field to the bullpen a few minutes later.
A postponement would result in games at Philadelphia today, Monday and Tuesday. If the Series went to a sixth game, it would be played Wednesday in St. Petersburg, Fla., and the teams would lose the off day.
Fans at Citizens Bank Park huddled under the overhangs and crowded the concourses during the delay to watch No. 3 Penn State play No. 10 Ohio State in football on television. A few hardy souls sat in seats behind the dugouts, covered by plastic sheeting that whipped wildly. Colors from the ceremonial World Series logos bled onto the crushed brick warning track behind home plate.
