PHILADELPHIA _ The Phillies will return Monday from a seven-day layoff to play the Yankees after it was determined that two of the team's three positive COVID-19 tests appear to be false positives.
Major League Baseball said in a statement that the team's last potential exposure to COVID-19 was last Sunday's game against the Marlins, which was played after the Marlins learned that four players had tested positive in three days for the coronavirus.
The Phillies will play the Yankees on Monday and Tuesday at Yankee Stadium before playing them on Wednesday and Thursday at Citizens Bank Park. Game times have not yet been determined. The teams were scheduled to play four times last week, but the games were postponed following Miami's coronavirus outbreak.
"MLB will continue to follow a conservative approach in addressing positive test results because the health and safety of our players, employees and the public at large is paramount," the league said in a statement.
Major League Baseball also postponed the Cardinals and Brewers on Saturday for the second straight day after three Cardinals players and "multiple staff members" tested positive. Two players _ Miami second baseman Isan Diaz and Milwaukee's Gold Glove center fielder Lorenzo Cain _ announced Saturday that they were opting out of the season due to coronavirus concerns.
Citizens Bank Park was closed on Thursday and Friday after the team learned that two employees _ a coach and clubhouse staffer _ tested positive for coronavirus. The Phillies were allowed into the stadium Saturday afternoon for staggered workouts after no new positive tests were recorded for two straight days.
But their season remained paused until they learned later on Saturday that two of three positive tests were false. Their workout on Saturday was just the team's second organized activity since Sunday's game with the Marlins.
The Marlins had 18 players and two coaches test positive in the last week as their outbreak caused Major League Baseball to pause both the Phillies and the Marlins' seasons. The Marlins rented sleeper buses on Friday to transport their infected players and coaches to Miami after isolating for five days in Philadelphia.
The Marlins are scheduled to begin a three-game series on Tuesday at Baltimore. The originally scheduled series between the Marlins and the Phillies for Aug. 4-6 will be rescheduled, the league said.
