--- description: The Cubs can't even tarp a field, it seems title: MLB Upholds First Team Protest in 28 Years in Giants Versus Cubs Game image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt87b1d96bfab94c59/6986a05a361760231c90d8cb/chicago-cubs-rain.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [major league baseball](/tag/major-league-baseball/) ## major league baseball Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # MLB Upholds First Team Protest in 28 Years in Giants Versus Cubs Game by [Alex Rogers](/author/alex-rogers/) ## Alex Rogers Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 21, 2014 1:39 AM CUT  Chicago Cubs ground crew members struggle to get the tarp on the field as rain falls during the fifth inning of the Chicago Cubs game against the San Francisco Giants at Wrigley Field on August 19, 2014 in Chicago. Chicago Cubs ground crew members struggle to get the tarp on the field as rain falls during the fifth inning of the Chicago Cubs game against the San Francisco Giants at Wrigley Field on August 19, 2014 in Chicago.Brian Kersey—Getty Images by [Alex Rogers](/author/alex-rogers/) ## Alex Rogers Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 21, 2014 1:39 AM CUT After protesting that the Chicago Cubs didn’t tarp the field properly in a 2-0 rain-inducing loss Tuesday night, the San Francisco Giants were [allowed](http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20140820&content%5Fid=90604930&vkey=pr%5Fmlb&c%5Fid=mlb "undefined") by Major League Baseball Wednesday night to finish the game Thursday. The heavy fifteen minutes of rain had stopped the game after four and a half innings, and the Cubs were declared the winners only after a 4 hour and 34 minute delay. It was the first time in 28 years that Major League Baseball upheld a team’s protest, [_USA Today_](http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2014/08/20/san-francisco-giants-chicago-cubs-protest-rain-tarp-wrigley-field/14365471/ "undefined")reports. The Giants had asked the MLB to forfeit the game, but the League decided that the groundskeepers had worked “diligently” enough to reschedule it. The League’s investigation found that the Cubs failed “to properly wrap and spool the tarp after its last use,” rendering the ground crew unable to complete the job. The teams had looked into suspending the game on Tuesday, but since the tarp was manual and not mechanical in nature, the officials had to call the game or wait until the field became playable, according to [ESPN](http://espn.go.com/chicago/mlb/story/%5F/id/11380110/san-francisco-giants-chicago-cubs-game-stuck-delay-unplayable-field "undefined"). You can find the MLB’s entire ruling [here](http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20140820&content%5Fid=90604930&vkey=pr%5Fmlb&c%5Fid=mlb "undefined"). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3151770/giants-cubs-upheld-rain-delay/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3151770/giants-cubs-upheld-rain-delay/"},"headline":"MLB Upholds First Team Protest in 28 Years in Giants Versus Cubs Game","datePublished":"2014-08-21T01:39:18.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T09:46:40.184Z","description":"The Cubs can't even tarp a field, it seems","url":"https://time.com/3151770/giants-cubs-upheld-rain-delay/","keywords":["major league baseball","Chicago Cubs"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt87b1d96bfab94c59/6986a05a361760231c90d8cb/chicago-cubs-rain.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alex Rogers","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alex-rogers/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt87b1d96bfab94c59/6986a05a361760231c90d8cb/chicago-cubs-rain.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Chicago Cubs ground crew members struggle to get the tarp on the field as rain falls during the fifth inning of the Chicago Cubs game against the San Francisco Giants at Wrigley Field on August 19, 2014 in Chicago.","caption":"Chicago Cubs ground crew members struggle to get the tarp on the field as rain falls during the fifth inning of the Chicago Cubs game against the San Francisco Giants at Wrigley Field on August 19, 2014 in Chicago.","creditText":"Brian Kersey—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/major-league-baseball/","name":"major league baseball"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3151770/giants-cubs-upheld-rain-delay/","name":"MLB Upholds First Team Protest in 28 Years in Giants Versus Cubs Game"}}]}] ```