ATLANTA - The planned Major League Baseball debut of a top prospect for the Atlanta Braves will have to wait a bit longer after Wednesday night's scheduled home game against the Washington Nationals was postponed because of rain.
The teams will now play a doubleheader of seven-inning games on Sept. 4, when the Nationals return to Atlanta for what had been scheduled as a three-game series from Sept. 4-6.
Cristian Pache, 21, was scheduled to start in left field and hit ninth against the reigning World Series champions for the Braves, who are off Thursday. Pache's debut could happen Friday night when Atlanta opens a home series against Philadelphia.
Pache, long regarded as perhaps the top defensive outfielder in the organization, has risen as he has added more power to bat. He hit a combined .277 with 12 homers at Double-A Mississippi and Triple-A Gwinnett in 2019.
"I'm excited about watching that kid play," Braves manager Brian Snitker said Wednesday.
Pache was recalled from the Braves' alternate training site on Tuesday, when outfielder Nick Markakis went on the 10-day injured list after possibly being exposed to COVID-19. There was no update on Markakis, who already has had one negative test for the coronavirus. Markakis, 36, opted out of the season before it began, citing coronavirus concerns, but he decided to return after the Braves had played five games and returned to the field this month.
Pache, a rookie from the Dominican Republic, has a high-profile tutor in his corner. Former Braves center fielder Andruw Jones, who won 10 Gold Gloves in his career and now is a special assistant with the team, regularly gives advice to Pache, whose strong defense already has earned comparisons with Jones.
"We stay in constant communication," Pache said through a translator on Wednesday. "He congratulated me yesterday. I honestly just feel very grateful to be compared to a legendary player like Andruw Jones."
Pache has primarily played center field in the minor leagues, but Snitker said he planned to have the rookie play in the expansive left field at Truist Park "and let him run around." Ender Inciarte was in the lineup Wednesday in center field.
The Braves and Nationals split the first two games of the series.
The National League East Division rivals are scheduled to play each other 10 times in this pandemic-shortened season, including a four-game series at Washington on Sept. 10-13.
Atlanta won the division title the past two seasons, but Washington made the most of its wild-card entry into the playoffs last year to win the first MLB title for the franchise that was formerly the Montreal Expos.
Max Fried (3-0, 1.24) will try for his fourth straight win when Atlanta opens its series against Philadelphia on Friday night. The 26-year-old left-hander threw five scoreless innings in an 8-0 win over the Phillies on Aug. 9. Robbie Erlin and Josh Tomlin, who replaced Touki Toussaint, will follow Fried in the rotation.