Five Hours to Go Nowhere

Orioles, White Sox Suspended After 11: Orioles 3, White Sox 3, susp.

CHICAGO, April 28 -- The soaked infield dirt glistened like the smooth surface of a slip-and-slide under the glare of the stadium lights of U.S. Cellular Field on Monday evening, the result of 11 innings played by the Baltimore Orioles and Chicago White Sox under unrelenting rain. And during the last three innings, each team at one point thought it had finally put an end to the first major league game in history contested on a marsh.

It was in so many ways a perfect storm -- a botched squeeze play in the bottom of the 10th, two blown saves, a pair of 11th inning home runs by late-inning defensive replacements, rain, wind and bitter cold -- all of it conspiring to keep the score deadlocked at 3.

But more than five hours after it was scheduled to start, and after the grounds crew applied 2 1/2 tons of drying agent to the infield, the unplayable conditions eventually forced the umpires to suspend the game.

Major League Baseball did not announce when or where the game would be resumed -- from where it left off -- leaving the outcome undecided.

"A lot of ups and downs, a lot of thinking that you're going to win and thinking you're going to lose and then flipping around," Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts said. "It was an exciting game to be a part of. It was fun. When you get over the cold and rain and just look at the game itself, it was a fun game to be a part of."

With the Orioles not scheduled to return to Chicago, umpiring crew chief Rick Reed said he felt compelled to have the game played. The two teams waited more than two hours before starting play, then pressed on even though rain drops started falling shortly after the first pitch was thrown.

"It was up to us to make every effort to get the game in, which I think we did by playing 11 innings," Reed said. "We feel that we gave them every chance to do that. Unfortunately, they kept tying the game up and nobody could win in regulation. And then the field just became unplayable."

Roberts lined the first pitch he saw from closer Bobby Jenks down the left field line in the ninth inning. He stole third base through the slop on Jenks's first pitch to Melvin Mora, who singled to center field through a drawn-in infield to tie the game at 2. For Jenks, it was his third blown save in his last five appearances against the Orioles.

Then the White Sox thought they had it won when Carlos Quentin doubled to lead off the 10th against Orioles reliever Jim Johnson. Joe Crede's deep fly ball to right field moved Quentin over to third.

Then with one out and Brian Anderson up, White Sox Manager Ozzie Guillén called for a squeeze bunt. Anderson missed on his bunt attempt, and Orioles catcher Ramón Hernández chased down Quentin and tagged him.

The slumping Hernández, who didn't even start the game, homered just over the left field wall in the 11th inning to put Baltimore ahead. But Orioles closer George Sherrill blew his first save, allowing a home run to leadoff hitter Juan Uribe, who entered the game as a late-inning defensive replacement. Sherrill had started the season perfect on his first nine save opportunities.

After A.J. Pierzynski's fly ball to center field to end the 11th inning, Reed waved his hand at 6:38 p.m. and a drenched and bizarre game came to an end.

For now.

"It wasn't unplayable for probably six, seven innings and then it got bad," Roberts said. "But we're toward the end and you got to keep playing. It's just frustrating to play that long and have it end like that. But you also don't want to lose a game because a guy can't throw the ball across the infield."