Washington Nationals are subject to New York Yankees after the game is abandoned

Strange start of the season in the MLB – the first game of the MLB, which started the season late due to the corona pandemic, ended prematurely because the game could not be played.

In the duel between the defending champions Washington Nationals and the New York Yankees, the game had to be interrupted and finally canceled in the sixth inning due to a thunderstorm.

After a two-hour wait, the game was canceled and the record champions declared the winner, as the Yankees were 4-1 in the lead at the time of the cancellation.

In the MLB it is possible to break off a game in bad weather conditions and – if at least five innings have been played – to declare the current leading team the winner.

Players kneel together in front of the anthem

It was the end of an unusual start to the MLB season, which with zero fans in the stadium, referees with masks, had something extraordinary to offer the Washington star Juan Soto, who was sick with the coronavirus.

So it fit into the picture of 2020 that of all people Dr. Anthony Fauci, the most famous virologist in the USA, was able to carry out the traditional “First Pitch”. The 79-year-old clearly missed the catcher.

Nationals pitcher Sean Doolitte, who was unable to catch the missed throw that rolled far past the target, described it all as follows: “It is difficult to describe. That is in a nutshell in 2020. It was a very emotional day.”

Before the game, the majority of the players went on one knee as a gesture of solidarity with the “Black Lives Matter” movement and held a long black ribbon in their hand.

MLB playoffs are increased

It was the official start of a season in which each team will only have 60 games in the regular season instead of 162. It was also announced that the playoffs will be expanded from the usual ten to 16 teams this time.

In the second game of the day, the Los Angeles Dodgers lived up to their role as favorites and clearly beat the San Francisco Giants 8-1.

Star player Mookie Betts, who was loud shortly before the start of the season ESPN was equipped with a mega contract over 13 years and $ 380 million (around 330 million euros), brought the Dodgers 2-1 lead. From then on it was a one-way street.

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