It was already bad enough that the Speedway Classic between the Atlanta Braves and the Reds had to deal with loads of rainy weather. This was supposed to be a grand spectacle for MLB to show the game to a wider crowd and while everyone involved seemed to love the pre-game pageantry, it was for nothing as one inning was played after a lengthy delay before suspending the game until Sunday at 1 PM EST. However, the decision to call the game may have a pretty big silver lining for the Braves.
Unfortunately for the Braves, the first rain delay caused them some real grief. Spencer Strider had already fully warmed up for the start and when word came out that a lengthy delay was getting called, it forced the team to scratch Strider since warming him up completely twice in one night could impact his newly healed arm's health. That meant a bullpen game was coming which was both concerning since the bullpen is famously not great at the moment and a concern beyond the Speedway Classic as that meant even more miles on their relievers than they had plans on.
Instead, the game was pushed to Sunday and Atlanta now at least can regroup a bit.
Suspending the Braves-Reds matchup in the Speedway Classic may have just saved Atlanta's bullpen
As much as it sucks to have many, many thousands of fans show up only for the game to get postponed, it could have been a lot worse for the Braves. Even with the scheduled off day on Sunday, having to unexpectedly throw together a bullpen game not only dramatically decreased the Braves' likelihood of winning on Saturday, but could have messed the bullpen up for the next several days at least.
Even with the extra "rest" for Strider, that is not a trade-off that favored the Braves over the next week. There were certainly some bullpen arms that manager Brian Snitker was hoping to stay away from on Saturday that probably would have needed to throw had the game been played.
Instead, the Braves only had to throw Austin Cox for a single inning and while not as good as a full day off, Atlanta got some rest avoided the nightmare scenario. The best alternative was still playing the game normally and Strider throwing deep into the game, but things could have been much worse.