The New York Yankees 2 game streak against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park has been postponed due to Covid-19. The Yankees were geared up to play the Phillies early this week when it was announced that the game was to be postponed due to a Covid outbreak in Miami. This outbreak infected at least 18 members of the Miami Marlins, including half of the team’s 30 man active roster, who had just competed against the Phillies over the weekend.
The Phillies hosted the Marlins in a three game streak which ended in an outbreak of the coronavirus throughout the Marlins franchise. Both coaches and players were infected, and there is fear that the virus could spread to other teams. In a precautionary measure, the MLB has announced that the next games that the Phillies would play, would be postponed while they test heavily for the virus. This outbreak came just 4 days after the abbreviated 60 game season began. After Sunday’s game, the Phillies were tested with no positive results. The team is doing another round of testing on Tuesday before they are to continue their season.
The Yankees are scheduled to play the Phillies in New York on Wednesday and Thursday of this week, but it is unclear if those games will happen. Covid-19 has a 14 day incubation period with an average of 5 days before results appear. This means that the tests provided on Monday and even today may not come back with any positive cases even though some players could have been exposed. It is safe to say that an appropriate amount of time will be passed before negative testing will be considered valid.
Miami’s team has not yet cancelled their season after their outbreak with the hopes that a 60 man roster would allow them to get through the season even with positive testings. The team has remained in Philly after being tested there rather than being allowed to travel home to gear up for their next series against the Baltimore Orioles . The MLB says that the Marlins club will not play until Wednesday at the earliest.
