Red Sox face journey delays, pushing again begin vs. Mets

NEW YORK — The Boston Red Sox, grounded for almost 24 hours as a result of a pair of mechanical points on their crew aircraft, lastly arrived at Citi Field on Friday afternoon, slightly greater than two hours earlier than the scheduled first pitch of their sequence opener in opposition to the New York Mets.

The Red Sox obtained to the ballpark at 5:05 p.m. ET, and the beginning of the sport was pushed again by 35 minutes to 7:50 p.m.

“We’re here,” reliever Garrett Whitlock mentioned, sitting within the dugout and sporting a drained smile.

The Red Sox anticipated to depart from Chicago on Thursday night time, just a few hours after they beat the White Sox 2-1 for his or her sixth straight win. But pitcher Peyton Tolle mentioned the “tug” — which tows the planes across the runway — was malfunctioning.

The Red Sox remained on the tarmac till after midnight, at which level they went to a pair of accommodations in Chicago. The crew returned to the plane Friday morning however was delayed once more by what interim supervisor Chad Tracy described as points with “switches or light bulbs in the cockpit.”

Center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela, whose addition to the AL All-Star crew was introduced over the aircraft loudspeaker by Tracy earlier than the second delay, mentioned gamers listened to music and performed playing cards.

Tolle mentioned he ate about 5 doughnuts Friday, although most of his teammates had burritos.

“We tried to make light of the situation, we tried to have fun with it,” Tolle mentioned. “But there was some frustration constructing, for positive.

“At one point, we kind of just looked at each other laughing because it was just ridiculous.”

The Red Sox lastly took off slightly earlier than 3 p.m. ET and landed at LaGuardia Airport round 4:30 p.m. Team workers mentioned the roughly 2-mile drive to Citi Field was comparatively simple throughout rush hour.

“Throw it back to travel ball days,” Whitlock mentioned. “Show and go. Go out there and play, have fun.”

The Red Sox nonetheless deliberate to start out Sonny Gray, who travelled with the crew from Chicago.

“Nobody else you’d rather have start this baseball game than Sonny,” Tolle mentioned. “It’s going to take a dog factor and Sonny has got that.”

The delay was the second in two weeks for the Red Sox. Their flight from Denver to Boston circled after half an hour on June 24 as a result of a mechanical concern.

The Red Sox didn’t get house till round daybreak on June 25 however beat the New York Yankees 6-3 hours later to start out an 11-2 surge.

“I think it’s some adversity for us,” Rafaela mentioned. “The message I sent to the guys was we have great momentum right now. That has to be our focus.”