Outbreak of COVID-19 postpones St. Louis Cardinals game with Milwaukee Brewers
The St. Louis Cardinals’ scheduled afternoon game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park Friday was postponed due to two positive tests for COVID-19 among the team’s traveling party.
The postponement, first reported by Jon Heyman of MLB Network, was confirmed to the Belleville News-Democrat by a Cardinals team official, who said the team was isolated at its Milwaukee hotel.
The remainder of the weekend’s games have not yet been impacted, pending an official announcement from Major League Baseball. Following a substantial outbreak among the Miami Marlins, in which as many as 17 players tested positive, MLB removed both the Marlins and Philadelphia Phillies from play for a full week.
The positive tests for the Cardinals come in the midst of the team’s first trip away from Busch Stadium since assembling for Summer Camp in early July.
MLB testing protocols call for reporting of results within 48 hours of testing; the positive tests for the Cardinals, then, would have been detected from samples taken in Minnesota on the first leg of a scheduled three city trip which was set to continue to Detroit.
Minnesota hosted Cleveland at Target Field on Thursday in the first game of a scheduled four game series. It’s unclear whether that series would be similarly delayed; Cleveland would have shared the same facilities as those occupied by the Cardinals during a period in which players were positive for the coronavirus.
MLB’s plan to play the season outside the so-called “bubble” environment which has been undertaken by the NHL and NBA has come under scrutiny in recent days, as multiple teams have been affected by shifting schedules.
The Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays and Washington Nationals have all had games rescheduled as a result of outward schedule ripples from the pause of the Miami and Philadelphia seasons.
Prior to Friday’s news, the Cardinals had reported four COVID-19 positive tests among players during intake testing at summer camp, and none since. Pitchers Génesis Cabrera, Alex Reyes and Eduardo Sánchez have since joined the team’s alternate training site in Springfield, Missouri. The team has not confirmed the status of infielder Elehuris Montero.
This story was originally published July 31, 2020 at 9:14 AM with the headline "Outbreak of COVID-19 postpones St. Louis Cardinals game with Milwaukee Brewers."
