Tigers-Royals game delayed by ump's apparent illness, more rain

It's been a day of delays at Comerica Park.

First, there was a rain delay. Then, there was an umpire delay. Then, there was another rain delay.

The Tigers-Royals game at Comerica Park was paused for 10 minutes in the top of the seventh inning when the umpiring crew had to replace plate umpire Andy Fletcher, who seemed to be battling an illness all day Thursday.

With two on and nobody out in the top of the sixth inning, Fletcher abruptly left the field, and the umpiring crew halted the action while one of the other umps went under the stands to change into plate-umpiring gear. Fletcher had left the field earlier in the game, too, between innings, causing a brief delay in the top of an inning. He returned to the game, and was given water by a Tigers trainer after that half-inning.

The Tigers led the Royals, 6-2, after six innings in a game that was delayed more than an hour at the start because of rain. But before the top of the seventh inning was over, the Royals had rallied to take an 8-6 lead, the big blow a three-run home run by Salvador Perez off Tyler Holton.

Just as Perez was crossing home plate, the Comerica Park grounds crew raced on the field to get the tarp back on the field, with another storm fast approaching downtown Detroit.

tpaul@detroitnews.com

@tonypaul1984

This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals delayed by ump illness, more rain