Finale with Tribe postponed by weather

The fate of the Ohio Cup will be on hold for a few months. Sunday’s series finale for the Reds and Cleveland at Progressive Field was postponed by rain. It will be made up on Monday, Aug. 9 -- a mutual off-day for both clubs -- at a time that is yet to be determined.

Cincinnati holds a 3-2 lead in the series with its in-state rival and needs one more victory to bring the Ohio Cup home for the first time since 2014.

The Reds are in the midst of a three-city, 10-game road trip that started on Friday -- which was the start of a stretch of 30 games in 31 days. Getting an unexpected day off is welcomed, even though it’s the club’s third off-day in the last seven.

“I think it is different than a scheduled off-day. I think you’re kind of geared up for a game, so we’ll actually try to make it somewhat productive with meetings and maybe even workouts -- indoor workouts -- while we’re here, before we head out for Pittsburgh,” Reds manager David Bell said. “So I think we can make it a really productive day. There’s just nothing you can do about it. It can be productive and somewhat relaxing. It’s raining. There’s nothing you can really do outside. It’s going to be raining all day here and probably in Pittsburgh, as well.”

After a few more hours in Cleveland, the team was scheduled to take buses for the short journey to Pittsburgh.

The Reds will keep their rotation in its current order and push everybody back one day. That means Sunday’s scheduled starter, Tyler Mahle, will now pitch on Monday vs. the Pirates at PNC Park.

Jeff Hoffman will start on Tuesday at Pittsburgh, followed by Sonny Gray.

“I was obviously prepared to go tomorrow, but for me getting an extra day allows me to kind of do whatever I feel like I need, whatever I feel like is necessary on that extra day,” Hoffman said. “Today, I will probably play a little bit of catch in the cage or wherever I can. I will get a little extra recovery stuff in and obviously knowing that we’re about to go on a long stretch without an off-day, this could work really [well] for us.”