The Pittsburgh Pirates will have to wait one more day before playing their first game at the new Yankee Stadium.
The Pirates game against the New York Yankees that was scheduled for 7:05 p.m. Friday was postponed six hours before game time due a forecast of inclement weather throughout the night.
The game will be made up as part of a single-admission doubleheader Sunday with the opener starting at 1:05 p.m. Only tickets for Sunday’s game will be honored.
Pittsburgh’s Edinson Volquez (1-3) was scheduled to face New York’s David Phelps (0-0) Friday night. Neither team has announced their adjusted rotations.
This is the third postponement for each team this season.
The Pirates (17-23) come to New York after a 4-3, walkoff loss Thursday, also at the Brewers. Former Yankees reliever Mark Melancon blew the save filling in for injured closer Jason Grilli.
The Pirates have not won in New York since the start of interleague play, losing three in a row in 2005 and ’07. They took one of three in Pittsburgh in 2008. But the team has never played at the newest version of the ballpark in the Bronx, which opened in 2005.
Pirates catchers Chris Stewart and Russell Martin both played for the Yankees, and they’ve seen how the stadium can be hitter friendly for batters swinging from the left side.
“Every stadium kind of has their pros and cons, and that’s definitely one of them for left-handers, and some right-handers like to go the other way,” Stewart told MLB.com. “I’ve seen popups over there that have sailed out.”
That could bode well for slugging third baseman Pedro Alvarez, who grew up in the Bronx and has eight homers this season.
The ballpark also suits lefty Ike Davis well. The first baseman will be returning to the city where he played his entire career for the Mets, in Queens, until being traded to Pittsburgh on April 18.
He is 6 for 22 (.273) with a double and four RBIs in seven interleague games at Yankee Stadium. But the slugging first baseman has been on a recent tear after a slow start in Pittsburgh.
In his last eight games, Davis is 12 for 25 (.480) with four doubles but no homers, and he has reached base 18 times in his last 34 plate appearances.
The day off gives Yankees outfielder Ichiro Suzuki an extra day of rest. He has not played since Sunday, when he hurt his back attempting a catch in Milwaukee. Once healthy, Suzuki should see more playing time because Carlos Beltran was placed on the 15-day disabled list Thursday with a bone spur in his right elbow.
“I’m getting better but not to the point where I’m capable of swinging the bat 100 percent,” Beltran said Thursday.
The Yankees (21-19) are coming off back-to-back shutouts of the crosstown rival Mets with Masahiro Tanaka winning 4-0 Wednesday, his first complete game in the major leagues. A night later, rookie Chase Whitley pitched two-hit ball for 4 2-3 innings of a 1-0 win that gave the New York a split of the four-game Subway Series.
Whitley made his major league debut in place of ace CC Sabathia, who is on the 15-day disabled list with a right knee injury. Phelps was scheduled to make his third start since replacing the injured Michael Pineda in the rotation.
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