Philadelphia Phillies-Washington Nationals game postponed by Major League Baseball because of Nationals’ Covid-19 issues

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Four Washington Nationals players and eight staffers have tested positive for COVID-19, forcing Major League Baseball to postpone their game against the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday night.

The postponement came one day after Nationals star Trea Turner exited the game against Philadelphia in the first inning following his positive test for the virus.

Washington manager Dave Martinez said Turner was among four players who tested positive. He didn’t identify the others.

The Nationals-Phillies matchup was scheduled to be made up as part of a straight doubleheader on Thursday starting at 12:05 p.m.

This was the ninth MLB game called off this year because of coronavirus concerns. The Nationals had their season-opening series at home against the New York Mets called off because of virus issues.

MLB announced the Nationals-Phillies postponement about 90 minutes before the game was set to begin at Citizens Bank Park, and said the time would allow for “continued testing and contact tracing involving members of the Nationals organization.”

There were 45 MLB games postponed because of the virus last year during the pandemic-shortened season. All but two of them were eventually made up.