OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA – AUGUST 18: Marcus Semien #10 of the Oakland Athletics fields the ball at second base against the Houston Astros at Ring Central Coliseum on August 18, 2019 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)
The Oakland Athletics have run into their first COVID-19 roadblock of the 2020 season.
Entering this weekend, the Oakland Athletics were in the majority of teams yet to yield a positive coronavirus test this year, but that distinction came to a swift end on Sunday, leading to the postponement of their matinee game against the Houston Astros.
The name of the member of the organization who tested positive has yet to be released, and the team is now isolating in Houston.
Sunday’s test result makes the Athletics the fifth team to have to shut down as a result of a positive test. The obvious hope is that the case remains isolated and doesn’t balloon into an out-of-control problem as it did with the Miami Marlins, who were forced to go on hiatus for almost two weeks as a result of their surge in positive tests.
The Athletics weren’t the only ones to receive some unpleasant news
It’s also worth noting that the Astros received a positive test of their own on Sunday at their alternate training site in Corpus Christi.
With the Astros trying to close the gap between them and the Athletics atop the AL West, Sunday’s showdown was set to be one filled with excitement.
Now, though, both teams have far more pressing concerns to turn their attention to.
The A’s and Astros both will assuredly be on high alert to prevent the virus from spreading among their respective players and staffers. As much as everyone would like to see these two AL West foes duking it out on the field for divisional supremacy, the health and safety of everyone involved in making these games happen comes first.