The O's Get Snowed in the Rain

Decision to re-start game costs the O's a rain-shortened victory

By Matthew Taylor

It looked like the Orioles had taken the lead at just the right time on Thursday night. The team rallied to go ahead 6-4 in the 7th inning, the heavens opened, and the sweep of the Yankees seemed to be complete.

Instead, the game re-started after an 18-minute delay, giving the Yankees an opportunity to score four runs in monsoon-like conditions. The game was delayed - and later suspended - after New York took the lead. The teams will pick up where they left off (on July 27, according to The Sun) with New York leading 8-6 in the 8th inning. Presumably, the weather conditions will be different.

Here's the rule in question:

4.12 SUSPENDED GAMES.(a) A game shall become a suspended game that must be completed at a future date if the game is terminated for any of the following reasons: (1) A curfew imposed by law; (2) A time limit permissible under league rules; (3) Light failure or malfunction of a mechanical field device under control of the home club. (Mechanical field device shall include automatic tarpaulin or water removal equipment); (4) Darkness, when a law prevents the lights from being turned on; (5) Weather, if a regulation game is called while an inning is in progress and before the inning is completed, and the visiting team has scored one or more runs to take the lead, and the home team has not retaken the lead ....

Melvin Mora argued vigorously with umpires Tim Tschida and Jim Joyce at the start of the second rain delay that the game should've been halted sooner. Amen, Melvin. Amen.