Cold weather in KC postpones Sho-time

KANSAS CITY -- With temperatures hovering in the 30s and a biting wind billowing through Kauffman Stadium, Sunday's series finale between the Angels and Royals was postponed due to frigid weather. The game has been rescheduled for June 25, which had been a scheduled off-day for the Angels before their six-game road trip to Boston and Baltimore.
Two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani, who was slated to pitch Sunday, will have his third start on the mound pushed to Tuesday against left-hander David Price and the Red Sox at Angel Stadium.
After playing through snowy conditions on Saturday night, the Angels and Royals were once again prepared to endure the cold on Sunday, but the decision to postpone the game was made about 25 minutes before first pitch.
"I think it's just a functionality in every respect," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "You saw snow flurries out there again and you've got a wind chill of about 18 degrees. We've all played in cold weather, but at some point, it crosses a line, and I think today definitely crossed a line."
Left fielder Justin Upton was among the Angels players relieved by the decision to call the game.
"I'm excited about it, honestly," Upton said. "Guys can get injured in this type of weather, if it's too cold. I think guys feel the same way in the clubhouse. If there's a time that we can play in better conditions, and pitchers are safe, batters are safe, then let's do that.
"I just know as an outfielder, I threw a couple balls in last night and couldn't feel my hand. My elbow was zinging a little bit. I can't imagine being on the mound and having to continuously throw. I don't, personally, think it's safe."
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Ohtani said his chief concern entering Sunday had been that his fingertips might go numb and cause him to lose feel for the ball.
"Ideally, of course, I would like to pitch in sunny, nice weather," Ohtani said via interpreter Ippei Mizuhara. "But these things are going to come up during the season, so it would have been a good experience for me maybe in the long run. In that case, maybe I'm a little disappointed I didn't pitch today."

Ohtani, who is 2-0 with a 2.08 ERA and 18 strikeouts over 13 innings in two starts on the mound -- both against the A's -- this season, will now face his biggest test yet in the Red Sox, who are atop the American League East with a 13-2 mark. Boston's offense entered Sunday ranking second in the Majors in runs (86), hits (137) and batting average (.273), behind only the Angels.
"Obviously I was preparing for the Royals' lineup, but since it got canceled, I haven't had time to look at the Red Sox lineup or the data yet," said Ohtani, who carried a perfect game into the seventh inning and struck out 12 on April 8. "I'll start working on that right after this. I know they have a great team. They're off to a great start, so it's not going to be easy."