Andrew McCutchen was all of us during Pirates' bizarre extended rain delay

As heavy rainstorms moved through western Pennsylvania Tuesday evening, play was halted between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the San Diego Padres during the second inning of their series opener at PNC Park.

Nobody likes rain delays, but the game was still scoreless in the second inning, and the storms appeared to be moving quickly enough that this pause likely wouldn't have to be too lengthy. The Pirates provided the following updates throughout the delay:

7:06 PM: "Due to inclement weather conditions, tonight's game is currently in a delay. We will provide updates as they are available."

Sigh. Not ideal, but such is life as a baseball fan.

8:01 PM: "Tonight's game will resume at approximately 8:15 p.m."

OK, the delay will have lasted just over an hour. It certainly could have been worse, so we won't complain too much. Let's play ball!

Wait a minute ... what's going on out at the warning track? Why is the grounds crew using brooms and squeegees to push water into the bullpen? It sure doesn't look like this field will be playable by 8:15 ...

9:25 PM: "Due to water accumulation on the warning track, additional time was needed to ready the field. Official start time is estimated to be at 9:40 pm."

Note the nearly hour-and-a-half gap between the last two posts from the Pirates account. Didn't they say in the initial announcement that they would provide updates? At this point, it's been almost three hours; why don't they just call the game?

If it's any consolation, the fans weren't the only ones left in the dark. Pirates veteran and team legend Andrew McCutchen took to X to express his frustration and confusion as to why the delay was taking so long.

The Pirates released a statement explaining the issue to Kevin Gorman of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, saying that the intense rains had caused a flash flood effect on the warning track, which caused the drainage system to be overrun by dirt flowing off of the track. The aforementioned brooms and squeegees were being used in an attempt to clear the drains and divert the water to other areas.

A game that stopped at 7:01 p.m. began the bottom of the second inning at 9:41 p.m. and didn’t end until after midnight. The two-hour and 40-minute delay lasted longer than the actual game, which was played in 2:37. The Pirates promised fans a pair of complimentary tickets as a reward for their patience, but players were given no such consolation prize.

Lengthy Pirates/Padres rain delay could have real impact on NL wild card standings

Once play resumed in the bottom of the second inning, both teams had to rely heavily on their bullpens for the remainder of the game. Starting pitchers Bailey Falter and Dylan Cease had effectively wasted their starts. The slippery outfield conditions cost Pirates right fielder Ji Hwan Bae a sliding catch on a fly ball in the fifth inning, causing the ball to hit off his glove for an RBI single that gave the Padres the lead in a four-run inning. San Diego went on to earn a 6-0 victory.

The delay could end up having a real impact on the playoff standings, with the both teams in the thick of the tightly-contested National League wild card race. The Padres currently own the first wild card spot, while the Pirates sit four games back of the third spot.

We'll never know how the game would have played out had there not been such a lengthy delay. What we do know is that both the Pirates and the Padres will have depleted bullpens for the remainder of a critical series. It's certainly not an ideal situation for either team, but let's hope the weather cooperates for the rest of the week to avoid further disruption.