The San Francisco Giants jumped on the Atlanta Braves early Tuesday night at Truist Park, taking a 3-2 lead through two innings while rain fell across the field and questions swirled about why the game was not stopped.
“The Braves starting this game in the rain is malpractice. Field is soaked, pitchers have zero grip, [Drake] Baldwin’s glove is splashing every time he catches the ball,” wrote Scott Coleman of the “Hammer Territory” podcast. “What are we doing?”
But between the top and bottom of the second inning, at about 8 p.m. EDT, with the Giants leading by a run, the game was stopped after all.
At 9:51 p.m., after a delay of more than an hour and 50 minutes, the Braves announced that the game had been suspended and would be resumed on Wednesday.
“Tonight’s game against the San Francisco Giants has been suspended due to inclement weather. We will resume the game tomorrow, Wednesday, June 17, at 2 p.m. ET with the Braves batting in the bottom of the 2nd inning,” the team announced on its social media.
“All ticket holders from tonight’s suspended game will be admitted to the 2 p.m. ET game tomorrow. Gates will open at 1:30 p.m. ET,” the Braves announcement continued. “Tomorrow night‘s regularly scheduled game will take place at 7:15 p.m. ET. Gates will open approximately one hour after the conclusion of the suspended game. A separate ticket will be required for both games.”
“Tonight’s forecast gave everyone a sense the rain would dissipate shortly after the first pitch. The rain held steady and proved to be stronger than envisioned. By that time, the infield was a mess,” wrote MLB.com Braves reporter Mark Bowman. “When [Braves manager Walt] Weiss and [Giants manager Tony] Vitello met on the field at 9:30, the thought was the game would start at 10. But the rain resumed while they were on the field, leading to the decision to suspend the game.”
“Braves manager Walt Weiss says the resumption of Tuesday’s game will be a bullpen game; JR Ritchie still scheduled to start the second game Wednesday,” added Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter Chad Bishop.
Fans, Reporters Irate Over Lack of Information During Delay
Fans and media both at the park and watching on TV or via the MLB app were beside themselves at the lack of information. Tom Fornelli of CBS Sports called the scene in Atlanta a “hilarious s***show.”
“First and only PA announcement so far since play paused now almost an hour ago: ‘Ladies and gentlemen, the Tomahawk Team!'” wrote Webeck in another post. “If the dancing on the big screen is any indication, the Braves are at least milking great beer sales out of this.”
“This is so stupid. Would really like to know if it’s the umps or the Giants who dropped the ball,” wrote one fan. And a second posted, “Whoever was responsible for allowing this game to start under these conditions needs to be held responsible. Boneheaded decision making.”
“Deciding to start it at all was insane,” wrote another.
“This is the most baffling rain delay in the history of MLB,” wrote sportswriter Dan Crawley on social media.
It wasn’t until after more than a full hour of delay with no information, shortly after 9 p.m., the Braves official social media posted, “We’re awaiting an update on the restart time for tonight’s game and will pass along as soon as we have it. Thanks for hanging in there!”
“They’re still talking!” wrote California Post Giants reporter Evan Webeck a few minutes later. “This has taken so long that it has resumed raining again. And, for the first time, the tarp is coming out. Boos from the fans, a good chunk of whom are still here despite zero in-stadium messaging from the Braves.”
“I assume we’ll get a restart time pretty soon in ATL. It’s barely raining at all,” wrote meteorologist Kevin Roth at about 9:17 p.m.
The MLB site did not even list the game as being in a rain delay, saying only that the situation was an “on-field delay.” On ESPN.com, however, the game was listed as “delayed.” Sometime shortly before 9 p.m., MLB.com also updated the game status to “delay.” But zero official announcements had been delivered by either club until the Braves made their official post.
San Francisco Giants Take Early Lead
Atlanta struck first. In the bottom of the first, catcher Drake Baldwin—activated from the injured list earlier in the day after a right oblique strain—launched a 473-foot home run, his 14th of the season.
San Francisco answered with patience. The Giants scored once in the first and added two more in the second, with Bryce Eldridge drawing a walk after an automated ball-strike challenge overturned a called strike, setting up Casey Schmitt to come around. Eldridge has been on a tear, piling up nine RBIs over his last seven games.
Adrian Houser drew the start for the Giants opposite Grant Holmes, who labored through traffic early as San Francisco hitters worked counts and waited out the conditions. Rain dotted the broadcast, and grounds crew members hovered near the dirt, but no official delay came.
Atlanta Braves Lose Michael Harris II
The bigger worry for Atlanta arrived without a pitch. Center fielder Michael Harris II exited with lower-back tightness, a move the club confirmed through its official channels. For a Braves lineup built on depth, losing a key outfielder this early stings even on a night they entered as favorites.
The stakes split sharply between the dugouts. At 46-25 and atop the NL East with a 22-11 home mark, Atlanta wants a clean series win over a struggling visitor to fatten its division lead before a tougher stretch. The Giants, sitting at 29-43 and fourth in the NL West, are simply chasing something to build on as a long road trip begins.
That hunt for momentum is exactly why Eldridge matters so much to San Francisco right now. The young slugger has become one of the few reliable sparks on a team starved for them, and a road win over a contender would mean something even in a lost season.
Weather remains the wild card—not just for Tuesday, but for the rest of the series, with heavier rain possible later in the week. Both clubs spent the early innings fielding wet baseballs and swinging in the drizzle, and the forecast threatens to shape how the next two games unfold.
As of the second inning, no postponement or suspension had been announced, and the Braves held a slight edge in early win probability at roughly 54%. The game stayed live, the rain kept coming, and the night at Truist Park stayed unsettled on every front.
Why Was the Giants-Braves Game Delayed Tonight? When Will it Start Again?