DETROIT — For the better part of 20 minutes on Tuesday night, Brandon Nemo in a blue hoodie stood signing autographs, snapping selfies, and chatting with dozens of Mets fans near the visiting dugout. For most of them, it was the closest thing to baseball they had seen in recent days.
In what became a wet trend, Mets play was delayed due to rain for the third time in four days. The Mets and Tigers waited for a delay of more than an hour at Comerica Park before deciding to postpone the game to Wednesday.
The split doubleheader teams are now scheduled to play on Wednesdays at 1:40 PM and 6:40 PM ET, with Joey Lucchesi and Max Scherzer starting in that order.
Fans holding rainy season tickets on Tuesday can use them for the 1:40pm game on Wednesday or exchange them for another Tigers home game over the next 12 months, except for the home opener of 2024.
The downpour continued what has been a recently disjointed schedule for the Mets, who had a five-inning game against the Braves on Friday, washed up Saturday and Sunday at Citi Field, then played a doubleheader on Monday before flying to Detroit.
The Locusts got to see more rain, wind, and cooler temperatures than they experienced in Queens.
Fortunately for both teams, a reprieve is coming soon. Wednesday’s forecast looks more pleasant, as some early rain gives way to drier skies in the afternoon.
With the weather improving would come the long-awaited return of Scherzer, whose sticky-things 10-game suspension lasted 13 calendar days in large part because of the rain. Scherzer, who will be playing at Comerica Park for the second time as a visitor after playing for the Tigers from 2010-14, offered notes of frustration about his continued suspension, but he’s glad the episode is now from his past.
“I think he’s looking forward to getting back with the team and contributing more than anything,” said manager Buck Showalter. “That’s behind him. It’s what it is. We all have an opinion on that. I think everyone is looking forward to getting him behind us and making him play.”
One of the benefits of the suspension was that it gave Scherzer time to heal his back pain, which had been bothering him in early April. Describing it as “an illness, not an injury,” Scherzer said he now feels his back is “in the right place” as he prepares to face his old team.
“I have a lot of great memories here,” Scherzer said. “The five years I’ve been here have been arguably the best five years in recent history for the Tigers. Being a part of that run has been amazing. We’ve had great teams and great players. That’s where I developed.
“I really came into my own here. To think about it, it’s been a huge five years of my career.”
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