PHILADELPHIA (AP) — In the City of Brotherly Love and the undefeated Eagles, Justin Verlander showed the reverse of the first and playfully gave Phillies fans another kind of bird Monday — with his middle finger as he stepped off Houston’s team bus.
“Whole interaction was in jest as all the fans around you were just saying hello in their native tongue,” Verlander tweeted several hours later. “So I responded in kind … all in good fun. I enjoyed the banter.”
One more finger, of course, than you’d need to count the Astros ace’s World Series wins, 0-6 with a 6.07 ERA in eight starts.
Also the number of days Game 3 of the World Series was delayed — postponed by rain with the matchup tied 1-1, pushing the entire Fall Classic schedule back one day.
“We waited long enough that we can see on the radar what’s coming,” baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said. “We had three, actually four different weather people looking at it. Everyone was consistent about this second wave of rain.”
The rainout moved Game 3 to Tuesday night at Citizens Bank Park, when the weather was supposed to be all clear and first lady Jill Biden had planned to attend Game 4. There was a smattering of boos at the ballpark when the washout was announced an hour before the scheduled first pitch on Halloween night.
Fans arrive for Game 3 of baseball’s World Series between the Houston Astros and the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday, Oct. 31, 2022, in Philadelphia. The game was postponed by rain Monday night with the matchup tied 1-1. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)