BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : ANGELS : Postponement Was Postponed Too Long

Umpire Dave Phillips, the crew chief, stopped the Angel-Texas Ranger game in the third inning Wednesday, waited two hours, and decided to postpone the game. But the announcement was delayed because the Angels objected to playing the makeup game on their scheduled travel day at 7:30 Thursday night.

If anything, the Angels said, they wanted the game played in the afternoon because of the four-hour journey to Seattle for a three-game series beginning Friday.

While the Rangers were listening to the Angels’ complaints, the rain stopped, the weather report suddenly changed, and at 11:02 p.m. CDT they were back playing again.

Ranger pitcher Bruce Hurst, who was making his first start of the season, was already showered and dressed by the time the game resumed. Angel starter Phil Leftwich, however, resumed pitching.

“He threw three times in the clubhouse during the delay,” Angel General Manager Bill Bavasi said. “He said he did it all the time in college. He’d pitch the first game of a doubleheader, take a few innings off, and then pitch the second game.”