Jon Lester's out of the game after six innings and 93 pitches, and exits with his club ahead 3-2 in a game that might clinch the American League Wild Card for the Boston Red Sox.

But such a clinching, should it happen, will be delayed for a stretch. Because at 9:33 Eastern, heavy rains compelled the umpires to stop the game and order the groundskeepers to cover the infield.

It's obviously an official game, but Major League Baseball holds the reins of this contest, and MLB will do everything humanly possible to play this game to its natural -- that is, nine innings -- conclusion. And while there's definitely severe weather in the area, it's not a huge storm and figures to blow over well before things get seriously late.

Well, it's not a small storm. But MLB will wait all night if they have to. When play does resume, Alfredo Aceves -- already announced as Lester's relief and Boston's most reliable hurler in recent weeks -- presumably will pitch against the bottom third of the Orioles' lineup, beginning with Mark Reynolds.