The Astros and Guardians' season finale was canceled due to rain, denying Ramírez the chance to hit his 40th home run

CLEVELAND (AP) — The regular-season finale between the Guardians and the Houston Astros was canceled Sunday after a long delay, preventing Cleveland third baseman José Ramírez from hitting his 40th home run and making the exclusive 40-40 -Join the club.

With Houston set to open its AL Wild Card Series at home on Tuesday and persistent rain forecast for several more hours, the game never started and was canceled after a 3 hour, 5 minute delay.

The Guardians finish 92-69 and the AL Central champions will host Game 1 of the ALDS on October 5th. They will play either the AL West champion Astros (88-73) or the Detroit Tigers, who have secured a wild card spot.

“We know Detroit very well and of course we just got to know Houston,” said Stephen Vogt, the Guardians’ first-year manager, who has done a remarkable job following beloved manager Terry Francona. “So we know who we will end up playing against, we will have a lot of work to do.

“It’s an exciting field. All six teams have their strengths, have their weaknesses and it’s really cool to have three AL Central teams.”

Vogt and Houston manager Joe Espada met for 15 minutes on the covered field with the Guardians' umpiring team, head groundskeeper and front office members around 2:20 a.m. – 55 minutes before the scheduled first pitch.

“We had concerns about the safety of our players,” Vogt said. “The field has taken on a lot of water over the last three days and that was really the No. 1 problem for us. At the end of the day, we waited until the MLB decided we couldn't go.

“We wanted to play, but we also wanted to be smart, and if the rain doesn't stop, we don't want to send our players into a game that has no consequences.”

The enthusiastic fans who remained at Progressive Field during the long delay watched the Browns-Las Vegas Raiders game on Progressive Field's giant scoreboard.

Ramírez finished the game with 39 home runs, one shy of becoming the seventh player in MLB history to hit 40 home runs and steal 40 bases in the same season. The six-time All-Star also finished with 41 steals and 39 doubles, just one shy of a rare 40-40-40 season achieved only by Alfonso Soriano in 2006.

“Unfortunately, Hosey no longer had a chance,” said Vogt. “But to be the second person in the history of baseball to do what he did this year is still a pretty cool accomplishment. Think about all the close calls he’s had and the times he’s been robbed and it’s still a remarkable season for what he’s put together.”

Cleveland's jump in the standings after winning 76 games in 2023 also led to an increase in attendance, as the Guardians drew more than 2 million fans at home for the first time since 2017.

TRAINER ROOM

Astros: LF Yordan Alvarez (knee sprain) is scheduled to take batting practice Monday, a possible final hurdle he must overcome to make the wild-card roster. Espada said the swelling in Alvarez's knee has gone down and the Astros are cautiously optimistic about the bat's availability this week.

Guardians: RHP Alex Cobb (blister on middle finger) had his usual speed during a simulated 35-pitch game. He will throw another pitch Thursday and Vogt said the team is pursuing plans to use him as a pitcher in the postseason. Cobb has been sidelined since September 1st and has made just three starts since taking over on July 30th.

NEXT

Astros: A Monday practice followed by the wild-card opener with Framber Valdez (15-7, 2.91 ERA) to start Game 1.

Guardians: Takes Monday off before playing simulated games and practicing before ALDS opener.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

SUNDAY