Weather could wreak havoc on MLB's final weekend
The New York Yankees may be reeling down the stretch trying to clinch a playoff berth, but Hurricane Joaquin may come to their rescue.
The Yankees, who have lost 13 of their last 22 games, need just one more victory or a loss by the Astros or Angels to clinch their wild-card spot, but Hurricane Joaquin could assure that the wild-card game will be in New York.
The Yankees have three fewer losses than the Astros and Angels, leaving them with a magic number of two to clinch the top wild card spot and play host to the Astros, Angels or Texas Rangers on Tuesday.
Yet, if inclement weather - some of it wrought by the movement north of Hurricane Joaquin - causes a postponement of their last games in New York on Thursday night or Baltimore this weekend, they won't necessarily need to make them up, since it would involve only home field and not a playoff berth.
“Our general policy is that if the games are meaningful,’’ MLB vice president Pat Courtney said, “all 162 games have to be played. We will continue to monitor this situation over the last four days of the season.’’
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The big question is whether “meaningful’’ translates into home-field advantage.
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The Toronto Blue Jays, who were playing in rain Thursday afternoon in Baltimore, won’t have that luxury if their game is completed against the Orioles. The game was moved from 7 p.m. ET to noon due to forecast worries, but it began under a drizzle.
Eventually, Camden Yards got pounded by a steady downpour and umpires - after pleadings from Blue Jays manager John Gibbons - called a rain delay after one inning and the Orioles leading 3-0. It is expected they will be able to complete the game by some point Thursday.
The Blue Jays, 92-66, have a one-game advantage over the Kansas City Royals, 91-67, for home-field advantage, and have the tie-breaker advantage. Yet, their last three games are under the roof in St. Petersburg, Fla., where they will play the Tampa Bay Rays the final three games. The Royals are in Minneapolis to play the Twins, where inclement weather is always possible, although the weekend forecast does not call for rain.
Should the Blue Jays’ game Thursday get postponed, and home field advantage still remains undecided, it will be interesting to see if MLB would force the Blue Jays to play the game Monday. The Blue Jays, since they already expanded to a 40-man roster, could send in a “B’’ squad to play that game, and not use any regulars or one of their normal starting pitchers.
Yet, there are repercussions. Whoever finishes with the best record in the league plays the wild-card winner. The No. 2 seed would have to play the AL West winner, which likely would be Texas. The Rangers could start lefty ace Cole Hamels in a Game 1, as opposed to a wild card club that had to burn its No. 1 starter merely to advance to the AL Division Series.
While the National League picture is far clearer, weather has already impacted the New York Mets. Like the Orioles-Blue Jays contest, their Thursday game at Philadelphia was moved from 7 p.m. ET to noon. The Mets lost the game 3-0, and a Los Angeles Dodgers win at San Francisco on later Thursday would drop the clubs into a tie for the NL's No. 2 seed.
The Mets finish with three games at home against Washington, and there's a 90% chance of rain Friday night in New York. The weekend forecast looks more forgiving, but the club could face the specter of playing a weekend doubleheader to preserve home field advantage in the first round.
The Mets won the season series with the Dodgers and would have home-field advantage should the teams remain tied.
The Pittsburgh Pirates, who were eliminated from the NL Central race on Wednesday, will play the Chicago Cubs in the wild-card game Wednesday. They’re now relegated to facing Cy Young candidate Jake Arrieta, but would certainly prefer to play the Cubs at PNC Park than at Wrigley Field. They have a 2 1/2-game lead over the Cubs for home-field, meaning that if the Cubs win out, the Pirates would have to win two of three games against the Cincinnati Reds. If they have any rainouts, they also would be relegated to a doubleheader, or even be forced to play on Monday.
Certainly, MLB can be relieved weather should be no factor involving the AL West and the second wild card club. The Rangers, who lead the AL West by 2 ½ games, play the final four games against the Angels at home in Arlington, Texas. And the Astros are under the roof in Arizona to play their final three games against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
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The Twins, meanwhile, lurk just 1 1/2 games back in the wild-card race. If any of their games would be postponed, MLB would require those games to be played. They would have to play a doubleheader, just as they did Wednesday in Cleveland, or if necessary, push any postponed game until Monday. And if the Twins won, it could force a tiebreaker into Tuesday and delay the American League wild-card game to Wednesday, with the AL Division Series starting Thursday.
In other words, baseball could have a real soggy mess.
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