Yankees blow 9th inning lead to Rangers after 3.5 hour rain delay

In a Yankees season full of disappointing defeats, Monday night’s crushing loss to the Rangers might go down as the worst — if not the longest.

With New York leading 6-5 and a Texas runner on first base following a leadoff walk in the top of the ninth inning, the game entered into a three-hour, 35-minute rain delay, beginning at 10:40 p.m. with play resuming at 2:15 a.m. before finally ending Tuesday morning at 2:45 a.m..

After the early morning locker room wake-up call, Kirby Yates entered the game to pitch for the Yankees and couldn't get his second career save, allowing a two-run single to Adrian Beltre and an RBI single to Elvis Andrus as the Rangers went on to stun the home team, 9-6.

At 2:25 am ET, the #Rangers take a 7-6 lead on Adrian Beltre's 2-RBI singe. Amazing. pic.twitter.com/04ysiAiplP

— Mike Leslie (@MikeLeslieWFAA) June 28, 2016

Joe Girardi — who successfully lobbied for a rain (which never came) delay to suspend the game 20 minutes at the start — got the tarp on the field once again after the leadoff walk (which the Yankees manager later denied) in the ninth.

The choice to delay the game belonged solely to crew chief, first-base umpire Paul Nauert, not Girardi or Rangers manager Jeff Banister. Being that the game had lasted longer than five innings, it was reasonable that Nauert could have called the game then, but he elected not to, leading to the extended delay later in the ninth.

Prior to that, when the rain did come in the 5th inning, umpires decided to let the teams play through the soggy conditions. Rangers fielders had trouble fielding some balls, slipped a couple of times and overall had a tough time with the slick grass, but the game pressed on until the ninth.

Before the stoppage, the Yankees broke out offensively with 15 hits. Mark Teixeira provided the big blast, smacking the Yanks' first non-single of the day, a home run to lead off the seventh inning that extended the Yankees' lead to 6-4. But it was the Yankees bullpen which let them down.

Happily for the Rangers, their 50th win of the season was worth the wait.

As for the Yankees, they might be glad to know the stands were empty and TVs off by the time they blew the game. 

If the Yankees-Rangers game resumes and no one sees it, does it still count? https://t.co/Ampxyn60Zz pic.twitter.com/PN4Qc75tZA

— Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) June 28, 2016

Maybe if Girardi didn't call for that bogus pre-game suspension things might have ended differently for the Yankees — well, at least a whole lot earlier.

KC grounds crew member gets rolled by tarp at ALDS (VIDEO)

Clouds and torrential rain weren't the only things that rolled into Kauffman Stadium during Game 1 of the ALDS Thursday night — and that spelled trouble for one unlucky member of the Kansas City grounds crew.

One member of the Kauffman crew got rolled over and folded like a Royals t-shirt by the tarp at the start of a rain delay in the third inning of the game between the Astros and home team — and it wasn't pretty.

Watch: This member of the Kansas City Royals Ground Crew was attacked by a tarp. https://t.co/kpORHsjSNr

— Scott Kennedy (@ScoutKennedy) October 9, 2015

It looked pretty scary, but announcer Matt Vasgersian said the worker "narrowly avoided a very bad situation" before joking "good thing the guy's in shape! He did get out of there, folks."

Yu Darvish shows off zany batting swings during rain delay (VIDEO)

There was a lot of down time at Yankee Stadium during Wednesday night's extended rain delay after the grounds crew had a hard time covering the infield during a downpour and left the basepaths a little soggy.

Rangers starter Yu Darvish took the extra time to show his teammates some exaggerated batting swings to keep things light during the nearly two-hour wait.

I'm not sure if he is mimicking some of the Yankees' previous at-bats or getting ready to take some cuts as the DH, but his imaginary rips are pretty funny.

The Yankees slogged away with a 2-1victory in the rain-shortened game because the stadium grounds crew had such a difficult time pulling a weighted down tarp across the diamond during the deluge.

That was pretty comical too.

Sleepy Indians drummer pounds on after two-and-a-half hour rain delay (VIDEO)

The start of Wednesday night's Red Sox-Indians game was delayed by rain for almost two-and-a-half hours, and then the game went into extra innings (GameTracker). At about 1:15 am EST, this drowsy drummer was still pounding away.

Well, that's one way to keep the remaining fans awake.

Southern Miss and Ole Miss players find loads of fun in rain delay

During Tuesday's rain delay between Southern Miss and Ole Miss, the players entertained themselves along with the damp crowd by putting on a variety show of creative entertainment.

"America's Got Talent" better watch out.

First, the Rebels of Ole Miss created a human bowling alley which even included the last wobbly pin.

Not to be outdone, the Golden Eagles of Southern Miss made a human roller coaster worthy of any theme park,  then both teams joined in for a casual slip n' slide.



When the rain still didn't quit, the teams did what any group of bored young men would do— have a dance-off.  The competitors did the prerequisite Michael Jackson crotch grab and moon walk before launching into a make-shift mosh pit.

The game was rained out and will be made up at a later date.

Get your tickets now and hope for another weather delay.

Rafael Nadal Blasts U.S. Open Officials For Playing In Rain

Rafael Nadal, the defending  U.S. Open champion and the No. 2 ranked player in the world, ripped U.S. Open officials, after spending 15 minutes on a soggy Arthur Ashe Stadium court Wednesday afternoon, for putting money ahead of player's safety.

Nadal, who was last seen cramping up at a press conference Sunday,  could have been accused of having a Midol moment, but was later joined by Andy Roddick and Andy Murray in voicing their umbrage at tournament referee Brian Earley for allowing matches to be played on a rain-slicked surface.

"It's the same old story.  All you think about is money," Nadal could be heard telling Earley while the tennis player exited the court and the referee checked the surface to see if it was still playable.

Nadal's fourth-round match was suspended after he fell behind 3-0 to Gilles Muller.

Nadal insisted the match, which was started in a misty rain, should not have even started.  A heavier rain followed and the court got slippery and the ball got heavier.

What does Earley think this is...a Yankees-Orioles game?  Why not start the matches at 11 p.m. while you're at it.

"We want to feel good when we are playing the tournament," said Nadal.  "For sure we  cannot accept these things.  I work all my life hard to be playing...We have to fight to have  the power to say we don't want to go on the court when it's raining.  I think it's not fair."

Yesterday, the tournament postponed 54 matches due to the heavy rain and officials were eager to resume play.  If the Open goes an extra day, it would be the fourth year in-a-row the tournament has finished on a Monday.

The USTA issued a statement Wednesday afternoon explaining its decision to play in the inclement weather.

"All parties, including the players and tournament, want to get the U.S. Open back on schedule.  As of 12 noon today, the best information available to us indicated the chance of a two-hour window without rain.  Unfortunately, not all light rain and mist shows up on radar.  We have experienced referees, and they decide if courts are fit to play.  Conditions may not be ideal, but can still be safe.  However, if a player or players feel that conditions are unsafe, we listen to them, as we always done, and the referee uses that information as part of his/her assessment on whether to continue or halt play."

Nadal seems to think player's safety takes a back seat to television revenue.

In an interview with ESPN 2, Nadal said, "We're not feeling protected (by) the tournament.  I understand they need to put tennis on TV.  I understand the business side of it.  First and foremost, I think the players need to feel comfortable and safe."

Serena Williams tweeted her support for Nadal via Twitter.  "Preach @RafaelNadal preach."

In the 1999 Open, Mary Joe Fernandez injured her knee against Venus Williams after slipping on a wet court.  Fernandez won the first set, 6-2, but lost the next two, 6-1, 6-0.

Nadal better get used to it.  The forecast calls for rain through Saturday.