Cubs postpone home opener a day because of snow

Snow falls at Wrigley Field on the morning of Chicago’s home opener baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Monday, April 9, 2018, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato)

CHICAGO — The Chicago Cubs tried to play their home opener on Monday. It was just a snow-go.

The Cubs’ game against the Pittsburgh Pirates was postponed a day because of persistent snow that covered much of Wrigley Field, creating a scene more reminiscent of December than April.

The Cubs tried pushing back the scheduled start time by an hour, and workers used hand-held blowers to melt the snow on the tarp. But the accumulation and cold temperatures were just too much to overcome.

The game was rescheduled for 1:20 p.m. Tuesday, which was previously an off day for the first series between the NL Central rivals.

Chicago is the last major league team to hold its home opener. It opened the season with a 5-4 road trip to Miami, Cincinnati and Milwaukee.

Pittsburgh is off to a surprising 7-2 start. It took three of four against Cincinnati in its previous series.

Pirates right-hander Ivan Nova was scheduled to face righty Tyler Chatwood in the series opener. There was no immediate word on the pitching matchups.