Hey you! Pirates alert boaters to rain delay

PITTSBURGH -- With rain rolling through Pittsburgh on Sunday, the Pirates pushed back the start time of their series finale against the Brewers from 1:35 p.m. ET to 2:10 p.m. to, eventually, 3 p.m.

And they did their best to keep everyone in the loop, whether they were inside PNC Park or floating along the Allegheny River.

During the one-hour and 25-minute delay, the Pirates’ stadium operations staff posted a message on the left-field scoreboard at PNC Park that read, with white letters on an all-black background: “HEY YOU, OUT THERE IN A BOAT! WE’RE IN A RAIN DELAY, COME BACK LATER.” The camera then cut to a couple boats cruising along the Allegheny River by the stadium to let them know who the Pirates were talking to.

It’s a safe bet that messages from inside PNC Park can reach boats out in the river, if only because we know from past experience that baseballs hit from inside PNC Park can do the same.