When high winds and the threat of lightning compelled the Twins to ask fans to evacuate Target Field's seating area and take cover on the concourses, it became clear there probably wouldn't be a baseball game Wednesday.
Shortly thereafter, the team confirmed those doubts: The Twins' game with the Colorado Rockies was postponed until Thursday night at 6:10 p.m., the second half of a split-admission doubleheader. It was the Twins' fourth rainout of the season, and the second in their home park.
"Our optimism never panned out," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "We tried."
The rain stopped a few minutes after the game was officially called off, and Molitor said the teams had been informed that a short window of dry weather, perhaps a little more than an hour, was likely. But neither team was eager to risk using their starting pitcher for a few innings, then lose him to a long delay.
"You don't ever want to start a game, no matter who's pitching, if you don't think you're going to get five innings in," Molitor said.
Tickets for Wednesday night's game can be used for Thursday night's makeup game or be exchanged for any future game at the Target Field ticket office.
The first-game pitching matchups remain intact for Thursday: Ervin Santana will face Rockies rookie German Marquez in the regularly scheduled 12:10 p.m. game, and Jose Berrios' second start of the season comes in the nightcap against Tyler Chatwood.
Baseball rules allow teams to add a 26th player for the makeup game, and Molitor said righthander Drew Rucinski, who pitched one game earlier this month, will be summoned from Class AAA Rochester for the night game. (Had the doubleheader been scheduled with 48 hours notice, the extra player would have been eligible for both games.)
