After rain delay, Game 3 of World Series between Yankees and Phillies to start about 9:15 p.m.

Game 3 of World Series to start after rain delay

PHILADELPHIA — Game 3 of the World Series between the Yankees and Phillies was to start about 9:15 p.m. following a rain delay, the second consecutive year wet weather affected the schedule in Philadelphia.

Andy Pettitte was set to pitch Saturday night for New York against fellow left-hander Cole Hamels in a game that originally was slated for 7:57 p.m. The grounds crew came out to remove the tarp from the infield at 8:49 p.m., and the new start time was announced moments later.

At that point, players filtered onto the field to warm up. There were still some puddles on the warning track.

Baseball wanted to avoid starting the game and then having to stop it. The forecast for the rest of the night called for mostly clear skies.

Last season, Game 5 of the World Series between the Phillies and Tampa Bay Rays was suspended for two days because of rain. Once it resumed — in the sixth inning — the Phillies went on to a 4-3 victory that clinched the championship.

The messy ruckus led MLB to institute a rule in January stating that all postseason games and regular-season tiebreakers must be played to their conclusion.

Games that start would be suspended if they are called, regardless of how many innings have been played or the score at the time. A suspended game is resumed and played to completion at the same site.

Last year’s Game 3 started at 10:06 p.m. because of rain and didn’t end until 1:47 a.m. It was the latest start in Series history.

Light rain began falling about 6:55 p.m. on Saturday as the Yankees were taking batting practice on a warm evening. Once they were done, the rain got heavier and the grounds crew rolled out the tarp to cover the infield.