Nationals-Dodgers Game Postponed due to Rain

The second game of the National League Division Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Washington Nationals was postponed on Saturday due to rain.

The first pitch was scheduled for 4:00 PM local time, but the rain increased as Hurricane Matthew moved up the East Coast of the United States, and there was "total certainty" of showers at least until 8:00 PM, said baseball commissioner Rob Manfred.

Los Angeles leads the best-of-five series 1-0 after their 4-3 victory on Friday night.

Manfred said they expect the weather to improve for the game on Sunday at 1:08 PM at Nationals Park. The forecast calls for wind and a temperature of 16 degrees Celsius (61 degrees Fahrenheit).

"Around one o'clock, we expect to be in a sunny period," Manfred said.

Lefty Rich Hill will start on Sunday for the Dodgers and Tanner Roark for the Nationals. Manfred indicated that the rest of the series will continue as planned, with the third game scheduled for Monday afternoon at Dodger Stadium.

Sunday was going to be a travel day to the West Coast of the United States, but now the teams will have to play and immediately head to the airport.

"We make these East-West trips during the regular season. It's not ideal, but it can be done," Manfred said.

Nationals second baseman Daniel Murphy said the players arrived at the stadium ready to play, but he was pleased that the decision was made quickly.

"We have to applaud Major League Baseball for canceling it early," he said. "I'm sure they didn't want any of the pitchers to get hurt, and for us to be in a situation where a team lost one, especially in a short series like this."

The starters for the third game are expected to be Kenta Maeda for the Dodgers and Gio Gonzalez for Washington.