Heavy rainstorm delays Twins game as crews try to drain outfield

UPDATE: Wednesday's game was indeed postponed. The teams will play at 3 p.m. Twin Cities time on Thursday.

ANAHEIM, Calif. — A severe rainstorm that struck southern California around 3 p.m. Wednesday afternoon lasted only a couple of hours. But its effect lasted much longer at Angel Stadium, where large pools of standing water created hazards for the grounds crew to address.

The game's start time, scheduled for 6 p.m. local and 8 p.m. CDT, has been delayed to an unspecified time, the Angels announced — "if the field is playable."

Twins manager Rocco Baldelli and his Angels counterpart, Brad Ausmus, both walked through the puddles in the outfield as crews squeegied water toward small water pumps intended to remove some of the water. Minnesota's chief baseball officer, Derek Falvey, also inspected the flooded outfield, as well as umpires Marvin Hudson and crew chief Gary Cederstrom.

Twins starting pitcher Martin Perez appeared in the dugout, preparing to begin his pregame warmup routine, but he was sent back to the clubhouse when it became apparent that the game would be delayed.

A rainout would be a rarity — the Angels haven't had a home rainout since 2015, and the previous one before that was in 1995.

The Twins are supposed to fly home after tonight's game, with an arrival time after 4 a.m. Should the field be unplayable Wednesday, both teams are scheduled to have Thursday off, and could make up the game then.

If they play, here are the lineups:

TWINS

Kepler CF

Polanco SS

Gonzalez RF

Rosario LF

Cron 1B

Arraez DH

Sano 3B

School 2B

Astudillo C

Perez LHP

ANGELS

Fletcher LF

Trout DH

Pujols 1B

Lucroy C

La Stella 3B

Rengifo 2B

Calhoun RF

Cozart SS

Goodwin CF

Harvey RHP