In a rare move, the Cincinnati Reds are postponing the season opener against the Washington Nationals that had been set for Thursday, March 29.
The game is delayed until Friday, March 30 due to a projected steady rainfall Thursday of around a half an inch. All Opening Day activities planned for Thursday will now take place on Friday and are as follows:
- 11:00 am -- 4:00 p.m. Reds Community Fund Charity Block Party
- 2:10 p.m. -- Pre-game ceremonies begin
- 4:10 p.m. -- 142nd Opening Day game against the Washington Nationals
Fans who hold tickets for March 29 may present their same ticket for the rescheduled game. If fans who hold tickets for Thursday's game cannot attend Friday's rescheduled game, those tickets may be exchanged for any remaining 2018 regular season home game.
Prior to today, the Reds have only rescheduled Opening Day due to rain three times since they first joined the national league in 1876. "It's a pretty amazing record when you think about playing in one of the wettest months of the year that this is only the fourth time that it's happened," says Greg Rhodes, Reds' team historian and author of seven books on the Reds, including one on the history of Opening Day.
The last time rain postponed the Reds' opener was in 1966.
Reds president and COO Phil Castellini addressed the decision to delay the game at a press conference Wednesday afternoon: