According to Buster Onley, the opening day match-up between the Washington Nationals and New York Mets has been postponed. The Nationals and New York Mets were going to play at 7 PM Eastern on ESPN. This postponement came a day after news broke that one Washington Nationals player tested positive for Covid-19. Four players and one staff member were in contact tracing protocols.
The Mets-Nationals game tonight is being postponed, re COVID issues.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) April 1, 2021
Washington Nationals-New York Mets Opening Day Game Postponed
It was going to be a marvelous pitching matchup — three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer vs. two-time Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom. However, the Nationals found themselves in a similar situation as last season. One player tested positive a day before Opening Day. Last year, Juan Soto missed their Opening Day game against the New York Yankees due to Covid-19, although he believes it was a false positive. This time around, the Nationals aren’t as fortunate. Today would have been the first day since 1968 where every team played on Opening Day. Unfortunately, this announcement changed that.
After the news broke Wednesday night regarding the positive test, the Nationals frantically began calling up players from their alternate site and minor league affiliates. This included Sam Clay, Yadiel Hernandez, Luis Garcia, and Tres Barrera, according to Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post.
And I can confirm their reports that Tres Barrera has been called up to the Opening Day roster to face the Mets tomorrow night. Players on their way to D.C. so far, and could be more: Barrera, Luis García and Sam Clay.
— Jesse Dougherty (@dougherty_jesse) April 1, 2021
Source: The Nationals are calling up outfielder Yadiel Hernandez to the Opening Day roster.
— Jesse Dougherty (@dougherty_jesse) April 1, 2021
Major League Baseball has options for the future regarding the Washington Nationals. If no more players test positive, they could play a doubleheader on Saturday or Sunday. However, if additional positive tests occur, then the entire series could be at risk. They would have to make the games up some time in the future. That could not happen soon, since the next time the Mets visit the Nationals will be on June 18th.
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) April 1, 2021
The 2021 MLB season is not off to the best start. With the vaccine rollout underway, there had been hopes for a normal season.
Main Image
Embed from Getty Images
Players Mentioned
Max Scherzer, Jacob deGrom, Juan Soto, Sam Clay, Yadiel Hernandez, Luis Garcia, and Tres Barrera,
