Why was the Marlins game vs. the Mets suspended? And why was Skip Schumaker so mad?

The push for the playoffs in Major League Baseball are tense enough without Mother Nature and the New York Mets getting involved.

The Miami Marlins are trying to hold onto their slim lead for the final spot in the National League wild card race with just three games to go. Well, three games and a half-inning after Thursday night's debacle at Citi Field in New York.

After exceeding expectations all season, the Marlins seemed to pull off a ninth-inning rally against the disappointing Mets during a downpour. Jazz Chisholm hit a double to tie the game, then scored the go-ahead run on a Yuli Gurriel single. But when Jorge Soler stepped to the plate with two outs, just four outs away from sealing the much-needed win, the umpires took the teams off the field because of the heavy rain.

Nearly four hours later, MLB suspended the game, leading to chaos in the playoff race and adding to an infuriating chapter in the unexpected battle between the Marlins and the Mets groundskeepers. Miami manager Skip Schumaker was seen letting the grounds crew hear his opinion during the long rain delay.

Why was Schumaker so mad? It all started before the Marlins even arrived in New York for this week's games. Here's the situation:

Why was the Marlins game suspended?

Down 1-0 entering the ninth inning, the Marlins rallied to take a 2-1 lead. With Jorge Soler coming to the plate and two outs, the umpires pulled the teams off the field, ruling the ongoing rain made the field unfit for play. Close to 1 a.m., the rain hadn't let up, and MLB announced the game was suspended.

According to MLB's rule book, if a game has been halted in the middle of play and the visiting team has scored a run to take the lead without allowing the home team a chance to bat, the game will be suspended and resumed at a later date. The game could have been ruled over without finishing all nine innings if the Marlins had not scored or if they had taken the lead an inning earlier.

Why was Marlins manager Skip Schumaker yelling at the Mets grounds crew?

It has been a long, frustrating week for the Marlins. The series in New York was supposed to start Tuesday, but the game was moved because of weather ... even though it didn't rain.

The Mets grounds crew did not properly cover the field while the remnants of Tropical Storm Ophelia moved through the area over the weekend. That made the field unplayable on Tuesday.

The teams played a doubleheader on Wednesday, throwing a wrench into the Marlins' plans in setting up their pitching as they prepared for the final week of their playoff push. The Mets won the first game Tuesday with the Marlins taking the nightcap.

Then Thursday night, the rains came back into play. The Marlins had taken the lead in the ninth inning and would have moved one game closer to clinching a playoff spot if one more inning could be finished. But the teams were taken off the field after giant puddles formed around the infield dirt, and after more than three hours of waiting, the game was suspended.

To add to the frustration, the Mets grounds crew was seen posing for photos amid the pouring rain, smiling when the Marlins were anything but pleased about their performance.

Schumaker was even seen lending a hand with the tarp trying to get the game restarted late Thursday.

Are the Marlins in the wild card?

Entering Saturday's games, yes. The 83-76 Marlins have a 1.5-game lead for the third and final NL playoff spot with two games to go. The Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds are hanging on with identical 82-78 records.

The Arizona Diamondbacks, holders of the second wild card seed, are 84-76.

Miami Marlins magic number

The Marlins' "magic number" is 1. That's the number of games they have to win or the number of games the Cubs and Reds have to lose in order to clinch their postseason berth.

Who has tiebreaker between Marlins and Cubs?

If two teams fighting for a playoff spot have the same record at the end of the season, a series of tiebreakers will determine which team gets the spot. The Marlins beat the Cubs in their regular-season series 4-2, so they hold the tiebreaker.

The Marlins also have the tiebreaker against the Arizona Diamondbacks, the team currently ahead of them in the wild card race, and the Reds, who trail both Miami and Chicago.

When would the Marlins vs. Mets game resume?

If no one has clinched the final wild card spot after Sunday's games and if the Marlins are still in the race, the Mets and Marlins will pick up where they left off at 1:10 p.m. Monday. Jorge Soler would come to bat in the top of the ninth inning with Jon Berti on first base and Yuli Gurriel at second base.

The game also could resume Monday to decide who earns the second wild card seed. That spot is currently held by the Arizona Diamondbacks, but heading into Saturday's games, the Marlins were just a half-game behind them in the standings.

If the Marlins have already clinched their playoff berth or if they've been mathematically eliminated, the game will not be completed.

If the game does have to resume Monday and the Marlins clinch their playoff spot, their reward will be an immediate flight to play their best-of-three playoff series against the Milwaukee Brewers (if the Marlins are the third wild card) or Philadelphia Phillies (if they're the second wild card). The wild card series are scheduled to start Tuesday.

Marlins vs. Pirates among final series of MLB regular season

The Marlins play a three-game series in Pittsburgh against the Pirates (75-85). The Cubs play at the Brewers (91-69), while the Reds go to St. Louis to face the Cardinals (69-91).

After Sunday's games, the Marlins will know whether they need to pack their bags for New York, Milwaukee, Philadelphia or back home to Miami.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Miami Marlins wild card playoff chances get curveball with rain delay