Detroit Tigers vs. Kansas City Royals Postponed Due To Rain

facebooktwitterreddit

Apr 3, 2014; Detroit, MI, USA; Scoreboard announces the postponement of the game between the Detroit Tigers and the Kansas City Royals at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

The rain looked unavoidable (and rather uncomfortable given the forecasted 39 degree air temperature), so today’s scheduled game between the Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Royals has been postponed well ahead of the posted start time.

No makeup date has been announced, but speculation for June 19 — a mutual off-day — is becoming popular.

Drew Smyly, originally scheduled to start on Friday, will almost surely get some action out of the bullpen. With three more off-days scheduled in the next eleven calendar days, the Tigers won’t need Smyly to start a game until probably April 19. They could also choose to option him to the minor leagues to make a couple of starts (and stay stretched out) and call up either an additional bullpen arm or a bench bat in the meantime.

With Anibal Sanchez’s shoulder still potentially barking, it might not be a bad idea to pair him up with Smyly on Friday, something like five innings for Sanchez and the final four for Smyly. Brad Ausmus could remain flexible due to game situation, but it would help keep Sanchez’s workload light while keeping Smyly used to pitching for extended innings.