ST. LOUIS — The entire three-game series between the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals was postponed Friday night after two more Cardinals players and a staff member tested positive for the coronavirus.
The Cardinals have been off since last Friday, when two players returned positive coronavirus tests. Eight players in total have tested positive, including star catcher Yadier Molina.
The Cardinals spent five days in quarantine in a Milwaukee hotel before finally being cleared to travel back to St. Louis late Tuesday, when they returned negative tests for the second straight day. They got workouts in at home and had been prepared to return to the field Friday.
St. Louis’ next game is scheduled for Monday at home against Pittsburgh. The Cubs are next set to play Tuesday at Cleveland.
The Cardinals and the Miami Marlins have been hit hardest by virus outbreaks since MLB started its shortened 60-game season. The Marlins missed more than a week before resuming play on Tuesday.
Before Friday’s postponement, the Cardinals had already added three doubleheaders against the Brewers to a previously scheduled series to make up their three games postponed last weekend. Milwaukee will host doubleheaders Sept. 18 and 20 and will serve as the home team in the opener of a twinbill in St. Louis on Sept. 25.
The Cardinals will make up this week’s series against the Detroit Tigers with doubleheaders Aug. 13 and Sept. 10. St. Louis had been scheduled to play the Chicago White Sox at the Field of Dreams in Iowa on Aug. 13. Those teams will play in Chicago on Aug. 14 instead.
INDIANS: Hitting coach Ty Van Burkleo has opted out of the remainder of the season because of concerns about contracting the coronavirus.
Team President Chris Antonetti said that Van Burkelo, 57, had been contemplating his departure for some time because of a personal high-risk condition and for his family. The Van Burkleos have a special needs child.
• Manager Terry Francona missed his sixth straight game while addressing a gastrointestinal issue he has been dealing with for months. Francona, 61, did not make the trip to Chicago, and it’s not yet known if he’ll be back next week.
First-base coach Sandy Alomar Jr. has been filling in for Francona.
NATIONALS: World Series MVP Stephen Strasburg is scheduled to make his season debut Sunday against the Baltimore Orioles after being sidelined by a nerve problem in his pitching hand.
Strasburg missed what would have been his first two appearances of 2020 after making all 33 starts last year and then becoming the first pitcher to finish a postseason with a 5-0 record.
“The tingling in his thumb is gone, and that’s a good sign. We watched him and he’s throwing some really good bullpens. That was the big thing for me: Nothing in his mechanics has changed. Everything’s good,” Manager Dave Martinez said before Washington’s series opener against visiting Baltimore.
“So based on a conversation with him, he feels good,” Martinez added. “He wants to pitch. He’s ready to pitch on Sunday.”
Strasburg led the NL with 209 innings and 18 wins in 2019.
FRIDAY’S GAMES
RAYS 1, YANKEES 0: Pinch-hitter Michael Perez hit a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning on his 28th birthday, six Tampa Bay pitchers combined on a two-hitter against visiting New York.
ORIOLES 11, NATIONALS 0: Chris Davis doubled his season total by collecting two of Baltimore’s 19 hits and raising his average from .087 to .143 as visiting Baltimore ended a four-game losing streak.
WHITE SOX 2, INDIANS 0: Dylan Cease worked his way through five shutout innings, and Chicago won at home.
MARLINS 4, METS 3: Francisco Cervelli hit a three-run homer, Humberto Mejia impressed in his abbreviated major league debut and visiting Miami kept up its surprising start.
The Marlins won their sixth in a row and improved to 7-1. They’re 5-0 since missing more than a week because of the team’s coronavirus outbreak.
ROYALS 3, TWINS 2: Ryan McBroom hit a go-ahead homer in the sixth inning, Kansas City held the powerful Twins to just a pair of solo homers in a win at home.
REDS 8, BREWERS 3: Trevor Bauer turned in another stellar outing, and Matt Davidson and Nick Castellanos homered to lead Cincinnati to a win at Milwaukee.
POSTPONEMENT: The game between the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies was postponed because of rain.
The teams will play a doubleheader of seven-inning games on Sunday.
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