Rain will keep the New York Mets from taking the field Tuesday night, and their game against the Philadelphia Phillies will now be played Thursday night at 7:10 p.m.

The squads were supposed to play the second game of their series Tuesday, but now that turns into an impromptu off day with the teams' mutual off day Thursday turning into a game. Matt Gelb of Philly.com reports that the Mets were the ones who decided to use up the Thursday free date while the Phillies would have preferred to play a double-header Wednesday and head back home to Philadelphia a day early. It's not clear whether this was a bit of gamesmanship on the Mets' part, hoping to irk their division rivals still in the chase for a playoff spot or just a desire not to have to play a double-header.

The pitching matchups will remain unchanged: Matt Harvey will still face off for the Mets Wednesday against Phillies' ace Cole Hamels, while the original Tuesday faceoff between the Mets' Jeremy Hefner and the Phillies' Tyler Cloyd will now take place in the series finale Thursday.

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