On Sunday, it was announced that a member of the Oakland Athletics staff tested positive for Covid-19. Now, the series between Oakland and the Seattle Mariners has been postponed through Wednesday.
Athletics and Mariners Series Postponed
The three-game series with the A’s was set to open Tuesday, September 1st, in Seattle. As of now, the third game of the series on Thursday appears to be unaffected.
The organization states that the games were postponed “out of an abundance of caution to allow for continued testing and contact tracing.” The postponement comes the day after the series finale against the Astros in Houston was also postponed. The number of postponed games this season is now at 40 due to Covid-19.
A’s-Mariners series postponed through Wednesday. pic.twitter.com/ebJ9W7tGlb
— Oakland A's Communications (@AthleticsPR) August 31, 2020
The Athletics were informed of the positive test Saturday night after the weekly testing on Friday. Following the positive test, the organization conducted contact tracing for everyone that traveled to Houston. The team is still self-isolating in Texas for the time being.
When asked about when the team will play again, General Manager David Forst had this to say. “Anything beyond today, we’re not going to speculate on. Ultimately, we need to see if this is an isolated infection or a larger issue.”
It presents a potential issue for the Astros, as well. The Texas Rangers are set to come to Houston to play a series and will be in the same clubhouse that Oakland was using. The Astros have said that the clubhouse was sanitized and cleaned once already and will be cleaned a second time before the Rangers come to town.
Upcoming Games
Whether the Mariners and Athletics will play on Thursday remains to be seen. Once they resume, there is also the question of will they play a doubleheader. It is possible that MLB could schedule a doubleheader on Thursday. The Athletics seem to be following all of the proper protocols to avoid spreading the illness any further. So it seems likely there will be at least one game on Thursday.
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