CLEVELAND — Chicago White Sox left-hander Anthony Kay expressed suspicion over the timing of the Cleveland Guardians grounds crew deploying the tarp during a rain delay in Friday’s game at Progressive Field. The incident occurred as Guardians’ batter Miguel Vargas rounded the bases following a three-run homer in the fifth inning.
Kay, who had thrown 48 pitches over four innings, was hoping to continue pitching deep into the game to provide support for the bullpen. However, as light rain began to fall and winds picked up, the grounds crew moved to cover the field immediately after Vargas’s home run, prompting Kay to question the decision.
“I was hoping to go six, seven, eight innings, give the bullpen some help, but I think they messed around with the tarp,” Kay said postgame. He added that the rain at that time was light enough to continue playing and estimated there were still 20 to 30 minutes of drizzle they could have endured. “But the second that Vargas hits that home run, they pull the tarp. So there definitely was some bull — on their part to get me out of the game. It’s pretty messed up for them to do something like that and get me out of the game that way.”
Major League Baseball rules assign the authority to suspend play due to weather to the umpires, who in this case, consulted with MLB before calling for the delay. Crew chief Vic Carapazza made the ultimate decision to send players off the field. The Guardians’ grounds crew’s role is generally limited to maintaining the playing surface and protecting it from damage during precipitation.
Kay acknowledged the official process but remained frustrated by what he perceived as strategic timing. “Of course, it’s up to the umpires at the end of the day,” he said ahead of Saturday’s rematch against Cleveland. “The thing that ticked me off the most was that we still had, like, 20 to 30 minutes of light drizzle that I feel like we could’ve played through. I feel like most rain delays you see don’t start” at such a relatively mild point in the weather.
No official statement from the Guardians’ grounds crew or the umpiring crew was reported regarding the timing of the tarp deployment. The game resumed following the delay, with the Guardians ultimately securing a win. The incident highlights ongoing tension surrounding managing weather interruptions and how they can influence game strategy and pitcher usage.