After rainout, making up hard to do

The Angels’ game Sunday against the Boston Red Sox was called because of rain, sleet and a little snow more than three hours before a scheduled 1 p.m. EDT start, and the severe storm could either wash out or wreak havoc with this morning’s series finale, scheduled for 10 a.m. EDT.

In the meteorological equivalent of Babe Ruth calling his shot in the 1932 World Series, today’s forecast for Boston, according to weather.com, calls for a 100% chance of rain. Not 98%, not 99%, but 100%, with heavy showers and wind gusts of up to 45 mph this morning tapering off to rain this afternoon and evening.

So, not only could the Angels leave their hotel at 8 a.m. EDT for the early Patriots Day start in Fenway Park, a game time that coincides with the start of what figures to be a cold, soggy and uncomfortable Boston Marathon, they might have to sit out a lengthy rain delay before beginning play in less-than-ideal conditions.

If today’s game is postponed, the teams might have to play a pair of doubleheaders -- five games in three days -- the next time the Angels come to Boston on Aug. 17-19, because the Angels don’t have an off day surrounding that series.

The teams could attempt to make up a game or two on a mutual off day, but of the five open dates the teams share this season, three are logistically impossible because of travel.

The only two days that could work are June 11, when the Angels are off between series in St. Louis and Cincinnati and the Red Sox return home from a series at Arizona, and June 28, when the Angels have a travel day before a series in Baltimore and Boston is returning home from a series in Seattle.

“We’re going to have to make them up somehow, either by slipping in here on an off day or playing a couple of doubleheaders on our next trip here,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “It would have to be something reasonable. We’ve made up games on off days before, and if we have to play doubleheaders, we’ll do it.”

Sunday, with apologies to Ernie Banks, was not a good day to play two. Or one. Or one inning. It was cold, about 41 degrees, and raining when Scioscia and several players got to the park, and the rain showed no sign of letting up.

The game was called just before 10 a.m. EDT, well before gates opened and before the Angels’ team bus left their hotel. It started snowing during Scioscia’s ride back to the hotel.

“It’s very rare to have a game called this early,” Scioscia said, “but there was no way anyone was playing any baseball in these conditions.”

It might have been just the break the Angels needed. They have lost five of six games since their 5-1 start and lost their first two games against Boston by a combined score of 18-1.

The Angels are batting .233 (54 for 232) with 16 runs in their last seven games, an average of 2.3 a game. They’ve gone seven games without a home run. They are batting .164 (12 for 73) with runners in scoring position during the stretch and .214 (22 for 103) with runners in scoring position on the season.

“You always want that opportunity to turn things around, but the way the last five or six games have gone for us, we haven’t brought what we need to bring on field,” Scioscia said. “Sometimes catching your breath will help. We would loved to have played today, but sometimes [a rainout] is not such a bad thing.”

Sunday’s pitching matchup, Angels right-hander Ervin Santana against Red Sox right-hander Josh Beckett, was pushed back to today, and if today’s game is rained out, Scioscia said Santana would start Tuesday in Oakland. If today’s game is played and original Monday starter Jered Weaver is pushed to Tuesday night in Oakland, Scioscia could start ace John Lackey on regular rest against the A’s Wednesday.

The Red Sox pushed Sunday’s Jackie Robinson Day remembrance to a later date, and with the storm washing out games in New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Pittsburgh -- and several teams from those rainouts traveling today -- baseball was still trying to determine Sunday evening how to handle the Robinson tributes.

Angels center fielder Gary Matthews Jr., who was to wear Robinson’s retired No. 42 jersey Sunday, will instead wear it Friday night in Angel Stadium against the Seattle Mariners.

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Bartolo Colon, recovering from a rotator-cuff tear, threw seven shutout innings in a rehabilitation start Sunday for triple-A Salt Lake, giving up three hits, striking out three and walking one against Las Vegas.

Colon, the 2005 American League Cy Young Award winner who was limited to 10 starts last season, threw 95 pitches, 68 for strikes; his fastball was clocked at 96 mph in the first inning and 95 in the seventh. He said afterward he was more concerned about his elbow than his shoulder.

“I didn’t know I was throwing that hard,” Colon said through an interpreter. “I’m ready, I’m happy. I’m a little nervous because I’m not 100%.”

If the right-hander feels good today, he will probably be activated and start Friday or Saturday night in Angel Stadium.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

mike.digiovanna@latimes.com