The Phillies Will Not Play For Several Days Amid COVID Outbreak

PHILADELPHIA, PA — The Phillies four games against Yankees this week have all been canceled and they will not play until Friday at the earliest, Major League Baseball said Friday afternoon. The news comes as the league grapples with an outbreak of coronavirus just days after the abbreviated 2020 season began last week. The new cases were first detected among members of the Miami Marlins at Citizens Bank Park during the series against the Phillies over the weekend.

The Phillies are currently scheduled to play the Toronto Blue Jays at Citizens Bank Park on Friday. The Marlins, meanwhile, will not play until at least next Monday.

Additional rescheduling of the Phillies season will be announced later this week, MLB added.

The Phillies will attempt to make up their missed games later, but the league is reportedly prepared to allow some teams to not play all 60 games, and determine playoff seeding based on winning percentage, if need be, as first reported by The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal.

>>Monday's Phillies Game Postponed Over Coronavirus Concerns

"The difficult circumstances of one Club reinforce the vital need to be diligent with the protocols in all ways, both on and off the field," the league said in a statement. "We will continue to bolster our protocols and make any necessary adjustments. The realities of the virus still loom large, and we must operate with that in mind every day. We are confident that Clubs and players will act appropriately, for themselves and for others, and the data provides reason to believe that the protocols can work effectively."

Tuesday's game was canceled Tuesday morning. The Phillies were tentatively scheduled to travel to New York to play two games against the Yankees on Wednesday and Thursday, but the Yankees will instead travel directly to Baltimore for a series with the Orioles.

The Marlins, who have at least 12 players and two staff members who tested positive from the virus, would not play until at least next Monday.

No Phillies players of staff members have been announced as testing positive since the team-wide testing began on Monday. It's also not yet clear if that testing is complete.

The Phillies lost two out of three games to the Marlins over the weekend to begin their season 1-2. The shortened 2020 MLB regular season will include a 16-team playoff format.