The Chicago Cubs are slated to play a makeup game on Thursday at 4:05 p.m. at Nationals Park and they are not happy about it.
The Cubs, according to reports, would prefer the game be played on Oct. 1, the day after the regular-season finale, or at a neutral site with Hurricane Florence heading to the Carolinas and mid-Atlantic region.
“Our voices have certainly been heard, but we don’t have any control,” Cubs president Theo Epstein told The Chicago Tribune.
Major League Baseball is in charge of the makeup, which was needed after the Nationals game with Chicago was rained out Sunday in Washington.
The Cubs could end up playing 30 days in a row. The game needs to be played, since both teams are still in playoff contention.
“I love all my teammates, but seeing them 30 days in a row is not what I intend to do on a daily basis,” Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo told The Tribune. “The one day away from them goes for two weeks seeing them.”
The first-place Cubs were to play at home Wednesday night against Milwaukee while the Nationals had a game Wednesday night in Philadelphia against the Phillies. The Cubs then fly to Washington for a 4 p.m. start, then turn around and head back home for a Friday afternoon game against Cincinnati.
Washington is scheduled to begin a series Friday night in Atlanta.
Nationals manager Dave Martinez said Wednesday he expects the game to be played Thursday in Washington as scheduled.
Joe Ross is slated to start for the third-place Nationals against Cubs lefty Mike Montgomery (4-5, 3.85). Ross made his first big league start of 2018 at home Friday against the Cubs but the game was eventually rained out in the second inning.
Washington (73-72) took a four-game winning streak into Wednesday’s game against the second-place Phillies (74-70). But the Nationals were eight games back of first-place Atlanta and close to being knocked out of playoff contention.
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