Francona Downplays Guardians Hotel Issue After Monday Rainout

He said it wasn’t a big deal.

Monday’s postponement of Game 5 of the American League divisional series between the Guardians and the Yankees led to some unforeseen travel complications for the visiting team from Cleveland. 

According to ESPN’s Eduardo Pérez, the Guardians had checked out of their hotel and brought all of their belonging to Yankee Stadium on Monday night to prepare for a departure straight from the Bronx. When the game was ultimately postponed at 9:36 p.m. ET over two hours after scheduled first pitch, the team had to return to their hotel for another night.

Upon arriving back at the hotel, the Guardians found that the building had been overbooked, causing the team to split up and head to different hotels.

Cleveland manager Terry Francona was asked about the lodging debacle prior to Game 5’s rescheduled start on Tuesday afternoon and downplayed the seemingly inconvenient situation.

“It was no big deal,” Francona said of the hotel snafu in his pregame press conference, per Carly Mascitti.

The Guardians will hope that there are no lingering effects from the night’s excursion when they take the field on Tuesday afternoon. Aaron Civale will be on the mound for Cleveland against Yankees All-Star left-hander Nestor Cortes. 

First pitch is scheduled for 4:07 p.m. ET on TBS.

More MLB Coverage:

• Guardians and Yankees Ready for Rain-Free, Do-Or-Die Game 5
• Ohtani Says He Has ’Negative Impression’ of Angels Season
• NL Championship Series Predictions: Expert Picks for Padres-Phillies

Inside The Pinstripes: Rain Lets Yankees Return to Original Pitching Plan, Guardians Stick with Civale

For more New York Yankees coverage, go to Inside The Pinstripes.