Marlins-O's, Yanks-Phils games postponed

Major League Baseball announced that two games scheduled to be played Monday night are postponed due to COVID-19 concerns.

Monday’s games between the Marlins and the Orioles at Marlins Park and the Phillies and the Yankees at Citizens Bank Park have been postponed while MLB conducts additional COVID-19 testing.

Commissioner Rob Manfred announced in an interview on MLB Network on Monday that the Marlins and Orioles also would not play their game scheduled for Tuesday in Miami. He added that if the results from the additional COVID-19 testing are acceptable, the Marlins and Orioles will resume playing on Wednesday in Baltimore.

“Tonight’s scheduled games between the Miami Marlins and the Baltimore Orioles at Marlins Park and the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Yankees at Citizens Bank Park have been postponed while Major League Baseball conducts additional COVID-19 testing,” the league said in a statement. “The members of the Marlins’ traveling party are self-quarantining in place while awaiting the outcome of those results. Major League Baseball has been coordinating with the Major League Baseball Players Association; the Marlins; the Orioles; the Marlins’ weekend opponent, the Phillies; and Club medical staffs, and will continue to provide updates as appropriate.”

The Phillies-Yankees postponement is out of an abundance of caution, given the Marlins completed a series in Philadelphia over the weekend. The Yankees would have occupied the same clubhouse as the Marlins at the Phillies’ facility.

MLB has been coordinating with the Major League Baseball Players Association, the Marlins, the Orioles, the Phillies and club medical staffs and plan to provide updates when appropriate.

“The health of our players and staff has been and will continue to be our primary focus as we navigate through these unchartered waters,” Marlins CEO Derek Jeter said in a statement. “After a successful Spring 2.0, we have now experienced challenges once we went on the road and left Miami. Postponing tonight’s home opener was the correct decision to ensure we take a collective pause and try to properly grasp the totality of this situation. We have conducted another round of testing for our players and staff, and our team will all remain in Philadelphia pending the results of those tests, which we expect later today. We will provide additional information as soon as it becomes available.”

The 60-game season began on Thursday with two games, with the balance of opening games taking place Friday. After taking two of three at Philly, the Marlins were to return home Monday to host a two-game set with the Orioles before playing two at Baltimore, then three this weekend back home vs. the Nationals.

The Yankees traveled to Philadelphia after completing a series win over the Nationals in Washington D.C. They were scheduled to play two games with the Phillies before returning to Yankee Stadium for a five-game homestand, beginning with two with Philadelphia.