PHILADELPHIA — It was fitting that a thunderstorm passed through South Philadelphia on the night right-handed starter Noah Syndergaard was scheduled to make his Phillies debut.
In the fourth inning, the wind picked up. In the fifth inning, a flash of lightning and a rumble of thunder bellowed over the left field stands. And by 8:47 p.m., the forecast was on the Jumbotron, the tarp was on the field, and the game was officially in a rain delay. Just before 11 p.m., the game was called because of rain. It was an official game, which the Phillies won, 5-4.
Syndergaard, one of the Phillies’ three acquisitions at the trade deadline, goes by “Thor,” otherwise known as the Norse god of “lightning, thunder, storms, strength and protection.” It couldn’t have been scripted better.
