Series opener rained out, doubleheader Wednesday

With one massive storm cell having already swept through town and more expected later tonight, the Nationals’ series opener against the Mariners was postponed, with a day-night doubleheader now scheduled for Wednesday.

The call was made around 8:15 p.m., some 70 minutes after the originally scheduled first pitch and about 2 hours after the heaviest of the rain fell during a downpour that included intense wind, lightning and thunder.

The postponement might have been made official earlier if not for the fact this is a two-game series between interleague opponents who rarely face each other. With a 12:05 p.m. finale scheduled Wednesday before the Mariners fly to Texas to open a weekend series Thursday night, the notion of waiting it out tonight was intriguing.

But as more rain began to fall after 8 p.m., with more lightning visible and thunder audible, the Nationals announced the postponement and subsequent doubleheader on Wednesday.

The two teams will begin the day with their originally scheduled 12:05 p.m. game, with Josiah Gray (who was supposed to start tonight) getting the ball for the Nationals. Fans who held a ticket to tonight’s postponed game can now use it for Wednesday’s 6:05 p.m. game, with Erick Fedde making the start.

The Nats, who already announced earlier today that Aníbal Sánchez will make his long-delayed season debut Thursday against the Braves, will need to come up with another starter sometime this weekend. With six games in five days heading into the All-Star break, they’ll need a sixth starting pitcher, and it doesn’t appear their top prospect will be an option.

Cade Cavalli departed Triple-A Rochester’s game tonight in the fourth inning after throwing a pitch and immediately motioning to the dugout. The 23-year-old right-hander, who carried a perfect game into the sixth inning in his last start, allowed one unearned run while striking out six over 3 2/3 innings tonight against Omaha, throwing 49 pitches.

Cavalli had been scheduled to appear in Saturday’s All-Star Futures Game at Dodger Stadium, though his status for that exhibition remains to be seen.