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Mets' Games vs. Marlins, Yankees Postponed After 2 Positive COVID-19 Tests
August 20, 2020
The New York Mets' season is on hold, as Thursday night's game against the Miami Marlins and Friday's contest against the New York Yankees have been postponed following a pair of positive COVID-19 tests.
The Mets announced in a statement they would be flying back to New York on Thursday night "with recommended safety precautions in place":
According to Tim Healey of Newsday, one player and one staff member have each tested positive.
The Marlins had 17 players placed on the injured list due to a coronavirus outbreak, with Miguel Rojas set to be the first to return Thursday. The two teams had played each of the last three games in Miami before what was set to be the final game of the series Thursday.
The Marlins have had more than a week of games postponed already this season, and their 18 games played are the second-lowest in the majors, ahead of only the St. Louis Cardinals, who also had a COVID-19 outbreak.
The Mets and Marlins are scheduled to play again starting next Tuesday for a three-game series in New York.
In between, the Mets were expected to begin a highly anticipated series against the cross-city rival New York Yankees. There are six Subway Series games scheduled even in a 60-game shortened season, although all are set to take place over the next two weekends.
The Mets must now stay vigilant to try to avoid a further outbreak within the organization. First-year manager Luis Rojas discussed the Marlins' outbreak last month.
"You gotta get concerned when we see something like that happening," Rojas said, per Healey. "But at the same time, you gotta be optimistic because [of] this protocol put together by MLB and the way we’ve been operating as well, following the protocol."
New York had a three-game winning streak before the latest stoppage, getting to 12-14 on the season and third place in the NL East. The Marlins (9-9) are currently in second place in the division based on winning percentage.