Rain likely kept Mick Abel off the mound for scheduled start

Friday night’s Phillies vs. Braves game began in a more than two-hour long rain delay. It led to an unexpected bullpen game for Philadelphia.

Right-hander Mick Abel was the scheduled starter. The likely explanation for the Phillies holding back Abel, as MLB.com’s Paul Casella noted, is that Abel fully warmed up for an anticipated 7:20 p.m. ET first pitch. The delay was called with most of the Phillies in the dugout in full uniform and ready to go.

The trend is for teams to begin games in a delay if there is even a remote chance of storms. That’s because managers do not want their starting pitchers coming out of games early if there is a delay longer than roughly an hour.

Both Abel and Braves starter Bryce Elder warmed up before the delay. Atlanta manager Brian Snitker decided to have Edler start following the long delay. Rob Thomson kept Abel off the mound. Tanner Banks pitched the first two innings. Taijuan Walker came in for Banks in the third.

The move to keep Elder in the game backfired for the Braves. Elder did not make it out of the third inning, as he exited the game with his team down 9-0. He allowed eight hits, including three home runs. He was charged with nine earned runs.

The Phillies will likely use Alan Rangel for multiple innings. Rangel was recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley on June 22.

It’s likely the Phillies will treat this as a skipped start for the 23-year-old Abel. Abel was shown in the dugout on the television broadcast, a good sign that he is not dealing with an injury.

Through five starts in the big leagues, Abel has a 3.47 ERA. The rookie’s next turn through the rotation is July 2 against the San Diego Padres.