2020 Spring Training: Saturday’s spring winners and losers
By Bill Felber
Winner: Tyler O’Neill, St. Louis Cardinals outfielder.
Facing Mets starter Marcus Stroman in the second inning Saturday, O’Neill reached out for a first-pitch low-outside curve ball and deposited it over the left-center field wall for a home run. The Cardinals went on to win 2-0.
It was a big deal for O’Neill, who is vying for a starting spot in left field on opening day.
Winner: Rain.
Normally, February is a dry month in the Valley of the Sun. The historical average rainfall for the entire month of February in Phoenix is less than 1.4 inches.
But rain can fall anywhere, and Saturday afternoon it impacted the opening of spring training in a big way. Up to an inch of rain fell in the Phoenix area Saturday morning, wiping out most of the Cactus League schedule.
Three-quarters of the Cactus League schedule went unplayed. Only the Dodgers-Giants and Cubs-Athletics games, both scheduled for later starts, were gotten in.
Afternoon games between the Royals and Angels, Angels and White Sox, Reds and Indians, Brewers and Rangers, Diamondbacks and Rockies, and Mariners and Padres all were washed away. The Royals and Angels agreed to turn their scheduled March 6 game into a split squad affair, adding a game at the Angels’ home base in Tempe to the one already planned for that day in Surprise.
The other games were all canceled.