Yankees schedule up in the air after Phillies' COVID-19 positive result

Major League Baseball (MLB) had a COVID-19 crisis develop during the first week of its 60-game 2020 season. The New York Yankees MLB schedule for the truncated season is set to see another change after their game against the Philadelphia Phillies was postponed. The Yankees were originally scheduled to play a four-game home-and-home series against the Phillies this week, but the clash was postponed after the Philadelphia franchise announced on Thursday that a coach and home clubhouse attendant tested positive for COVID-19. 

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MLB scores: Yankees MLB schedule disrupted after Phillies clash postponement 

The Phillies COVID-19 crisis is the latest to affect the MLB schedule for the 2020 season after the Miami Marlins saw as many as 19 members of the franchise including 17 players test positive in recent days. In an effort to minimise disruption to the season while containing the COVID-19 outbreak in the league, MLB has revised the schedule to isolate the Marlins and Phillies for a period of time. Phillies' clash with the New York Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays was then postponed. With the Phillies' series postponed, the Yankees face the Baltimore Orioles in a two-game series starting in Baltimore, with the New York franchise registering an 8-6 win in the first game of the clash. 

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The Yankees were scheduled to play four games with the Phillies this week (two in Philadelphia and two in New York) while the Orioles were scheduled to play four games with the Marlins (two in Miami and two in Baltimore). However, with COVID-19 crisis, the revised MLB schedule saw the Yankees and Orioles playing Wednesday and Thursday rather than sit idle. The Yankees are scheduled to play the Boston Red Sox in the Bronx starting Friday. Beyond that, Aaron Boone is unsure of what his team will do. The Yankees coach said that he has received no directive from anyone, and believes that disruption in their MLB schedule is likely to impact the coming weeks. 

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 According to Joel Sherman of The New York Post, the league will try to schedule all postponed MLB games later in the season via doubleheaders and eliminating off-days. MLB is also prepared to allow teams to finish the season with an unequal number of games played to determine the postseason field with winning percentage. Despite the COVID-19 outbreak, commissioner Rob Manfred said on Monday that the owners have not yet seriously discussed cancelling the season. The league believes it has mechanisms in place to manage an outbreak and continue play as planned. 

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(Image Courtesy: New York Yankees Instagram)