NLCS rematch postponed by rain in St. Louis

Programming note: Coverage of Game 1 of the Giants-Cardinals doubleheader Saturday begins at 10:00 PT on CSN Bay Area, followed by Giants baseball at 10:15.

ST. LOUIS ? With tornado sirens blaring, the Giants and Cardinals never got close to throwing the first pitch Friday night.

The series opener at Busch Stadium was postponed and will be made up as part of a split doubleheader on Saturday. The first game is scheduled to start 10:15 a.m. PDT and the second game remains scheduled for a first pitch at 4:15 p.m. PDT.

It?s? a split doubleheader, so the ballpark will be cleared in between games.

Neither of Friday?s scheduled starters, Matt Cain and Shelby Miller, began warming up. They?ll face each other in the first game. It?ll be Madison Bumgarner against Adam Wainwright, as scheduled, in the second game.

There?s more inclement weather in Saturday?s forecast. But as long as the two teams can squeeze in both games, the Giants? rotation plans won?t be affected as they move forward.

Chad Gaudin remains listed as Sunday?s spot starter for the Giants, although manager Bruce Bochy said he reserved the right to use the right-hander in relief in an emergency Saturday.

In the press box, immediately after announcing Friday?s postponement, the Cardinals? public relations staff warned media to "leave the stadium as soon as possible and seek shelter."

Makes you wonder why the heck it took so long to make the decision. The game was postponed roughly 40 minutes after the scheduled first pitch at 5:15 PDT, but before a drop of rain hit the ground. The leading edge of a severe thunderstorm hit the area within an hour of the postponement announcement, meaning fans had very little time to clear the area and seek shelter.

(The storm passed through with no damage to Busch Stadium or injuries reported to fans, according to the Post-Dispatch.)

The Giants would?ve played without third baseman Pablo Sandoval (strained left foot) and center fielder Angel Pagan (hamstring). Second baseman Marco Scutaro was in the lineup despite being ?a little washed out,? in Bochy?s parlance, with an upper respiratory infection.

Sandoval is expected to miss the entire series and Pagan is ?50-50? to start one of the two games on Saturday, Bochy said.

?He still feels a little something,? Bochy said.

It?s possible that Brett Pill or Brandon Belt could see time in left field but neither of them would start in the outfield, Bochy said.

Bochy said the postponement was better than waiting around all night ? something the Cardinals and Kansas City Royals did until almost 3 a.m. Central time while waiting out the storms to complete a game that had been suspended in the ninth inning.

?We had a good BP,? said Bochy, mostly maintaining a deadpan. ?Noonan booted one ball to his left, but otherwise we looked good.?

Source: http://www.csnbayarea.com/blog/andrew-baggarly/giants-cardinals-postponed-doubleheader-saturday

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