Sox’ suspended game brought out best in head groundskeeper Roger Bossard

The Sox’ preparation for their games Tuesday against the Royals was far from normal.

SHARE Sox’ suspended game brought out best in head groundskeeper Roger Bossard
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - MAY 27: James McCann #33 of the Chicago White Sox goes to second while Nicky Lopez #1 of the Kansas City Royals catches the throw from third base during the fifth inning at Guaranteed Rate Field on May 27, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (P

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - MAY 27: James McCann #33 of the Chicago White Sox goes to second while Nicky Lopez #1 of the Kansas City Royals catches the throw from third base during the fifth inning at Guaranteed Rate Field on May 27, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images)

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The conditions for the Sox’ suspended game Monday against the Royals and the preparations required to resume the game Tuesday were far from normal.

A relentless downpour Monday forced the game to be suspended during a second rain delay with the score tied 1-1 with two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning because of unplayable field conditions.

Before the first rain delay at 2:38 p.m., Yolmer Sanchez was batting left-handed against Royals right-hander Homer Bailey. After a nearly three-hour delay, left-handed reliever Brian Flynn replaced Bailey on the mound, and Sanchez responded by switching to the right side and singling home the tying run.

‘‘I have not seen that before,’’ Sox manager Rick Renteria said about Sanchez’s lefty-to-righty switch during the same at-bat. ‘‘That had more to do with the weather causing that. Other than an injury possibly doing something to a switch hitter, turning him around because you bring in a different pitcher, I haven’t seen anything like that before.’’

Head groundskeeper Roger Bossard and his 24-man crew stayed at Guaranteed Rate Field until 10:15 p.m. Monday, and Bossard arrived at the ballpark at 7:05 a.m. Tuesday to prepare the field for the completion of the suspended game and the regularly scheduled contest.

Bossard and his crew used 121 bags — about three tons — of Quick Dry on the field Monday after nearly 1.75 inches of rain — the equivalent of about 15,000 gallons — drenched it.

‘‘We scraped close to three tons of conditioner off,’’ Bossard said. ‘‘The problem is, when you scrape it off, then you’ve got to start adding stuff back on because the condition for the ball to bounce is the amount of material and conditioner that you put on the field. So we stripped it all last night, I put on about a half-ton of stuff, then this morning I rolled it two times. And it’s in pretty good shape right now.’’

Even though crew chief Bill Miller did all he could to get the game in Monday, Bossard said the right call was made. The infield was too wet to continue play.

Patience eventually paid off for the Sox. They won the suspended game 2-1, with Sanchez delivering a bases-loaded single to center to bring home James McCann in the ninth inning.

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