Nationals-Phillies game postponed due to Washington's COVID outbreak

Wednesday night’s game between the Phillies and Nationals has been postponed due to positive COVID-19 tests within the Washington organization, Jeff Passan of ESPN was among those to report. “Multiple players and coaches” with the club have tested positive, according to Passan, who suggests the current outbreak might be the most significant MLB has seen in 2021. Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic first reported the game might be in jeopardy.

Star shortstop Trea Turner was pulled from Tuesday night’s game after testing positive, and follow-up testing on Wednesday revealed further spread among the club. The teams are scheduled to play Thursday evening, but it certainly seems possible that game could also be in jeopardy given Passan’s report of multiple people now afflicted with the virus. Notably, Thursday evening’s game is Max Scherzer’s final scheduled start before the trade deadline.

Washington is one of the teams to have crossed the 85% vaccination threshold for Tier 1 personnel, Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com was among those to note. The Nationals also dealt with COVID spread at the beginning of the season, forcing the postponement of the first four games of their season.