CHICAGO -- The Chicago Cubs classify their struggles with the infield tarp that resulted in Tuesday's game against the San Francisco Giants being suspended as a "freak thing" rather than a result of the organization cutting costs.

"The budget for grounds crew and maintenance has not been slashed," Cubs spokesman Julian Green told ESPNChicago.com on Friday. "It is true there have been organizational changes to ensure the business operation is running efficiently. That's something every organization does whether you are in sports or corporate America.

The grounds crew works on the rain-soaked infield at Wrigley Field on Tuesday night. AP Photo/Jeff Haynes

"We are not going to make any personnel decisions at the expense of making sure that field is ready for play because that impacts the game itself and it impacts the fan experience."

A sudden downpour of rain hit Wrigley Field with the Cubs leading 2-0 going into the bottom of the fifth inning on Tuesday night. The grounds crew struggled to get the tarp over the infield in time, and despite just 15 minutes of heavy rain, the game was delayed four and a half hours. The game was called and the Cubs awarded the victory only to have the Giants -- just 3½ games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West -- protest the decision.

The Giants won the protest -- the first time that has happened since 1986 -- and the game resumed on Thursday with the Cubs holding on for a 2-1 victory.

A Chicago Sun-Times report on Thursday cited sources with knowledge of the situation claiming the personnel decisions were part of a reorganization over the winter designed to keep certain workers' hours under the threshold in the Affordable Care Act, or "Obamacare," that requires large employers to offer health insurance for employees working more than 30 hours per week.

The grounds crew, which also includes workers who clean and perform other tasks around the stadium, are union members. Vince Pesha, the director of the Sports and Entertainment division of SEIU Local 1, told ESPNChicago.com that there haven't been any union grievances over lost hours. But he added that "there's definitely been hours cut. I wouldn't say it has anything to do with [health care]. More with economics."

Green denied that health care costs played a role in Tuesday's incident.

"We've made some organizational changes to make sure our scheduling is in line," Green said. "If we want to be a successful, functioning, profitable operation, you have to make sure your personnel and workforce is in line.

"Anyone in this organization who would even suggest that it was Obamacare and tried to make this a situation about work hours at the expense of guys who are widely viewed as the best in the business, it's unfortunate."

Green also disputed the notion that the Cubs did not have enough workers to properly unspool the tarp -- "we had 17 hands for 17 handles" -- on Tuesday and notes that Major League Baseball said the issue with the tarp was a result of it being improperly wrapped from its previous use.