Today’s scheduled game between the St. Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers will not take place. It has been postponed after at least one Cardinals player tested positive for COVID-19. The league is being extra cautious after a number of Miami Marlins players tested positive. Those tests impacted the Marlins, Philadelphia Phillies, and New York Yankees. Jon Heyman of MLB Network first reported the news early Friday morning.
Brewers-Cardinsls game tonight postponed due to positive test
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) July 31, 2020
Cardinals-Brewers Game Postponed
The Cardinals and Brewers were two teams expected to compete in the tight NL Central division but both are off to average starts through the first week of games. The Brewers are 3-3 after opening series against the Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates, both division rivals. Milwaukee’s pitching staff has been fine but the lineup anchored by star Christian Yelich is struggling somewhat. The Brewers are minus four in run differential with a team OPS+ of 84.
The Cardinals are 2-3 after winning the opening series against the Pirates but followed that with a road sweep against the Minnesota Twins. St. Louis is also getting solid results from its pitching staff but is only slightly better on offense; the team is minus one in run differential with a team OPS+ of 88. Both teams should be contenders moving forward but positive tests interrupt an already-chaotic schedule. The league will determine the best way to make the game up if it can. A double-header in the future is the most likely scenario if the schedule permits.
What This Means for the Future
The league will continue to move the season forward in the absence of a clear cut-off point where positive tests preempt the rest of the season. There will be an increased focus on St. Louis and Milwaukee from other Central division teams but the Twins will likely undergo more testing since they played the Cardinals recently. That could also ripple outward and affect the Twins’ most recent opponent, the Cleveland Indians. No player or team personnel has passed away or suffered permanent effects from the novel coronavirus but the constant barrage of positive tests impacting games is concerning. The league doesn’t have a plan to cancel the season but it may need one at some point.
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