The game scheduled for Friday night at Progressive Field in Cleveland between the and has been postponed due to poor air quality, the Guardians announced. The unfavorable air conditions stem from the smoke blowing south from the wildfires raging across parts of Canada and northern Minnesota ().
This is the only game postponed on Friday night, despite the upper Midwest and eastward feeling the effects of the smoke from the fires. The was 203 in Cleveland when the postponement was announced, . Anything above 200 is considered “very unhealthy.”
“We want to be safe for our players. We want to make sure that it’s not too smoky and obviously for the fans as well. It’s just not safe to be out in that environment if it’s not playable,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said before the postponement, . “We can’t control the weather. We can’t control mother nature. So we got to do what’s best and what’s smart for both teams and for the fans.”
Thursday night’s game between the and in Philadelphia, the first after the All-Star break, was moved up an hour to account for the smoke. For the Pittsburgh-Cleveland series, the plan is to play a split doubleheader on Saturday, with the first game starting at 1:10 p.m. ET and the second at 7:10 p.m. ET.
The Guardians (51-46) start the second half on a four-game winning streak and tied for first place in the AL Central with the White Sox (50-45). The Pirates are 50-47 and two games back of the third wild card spot in the National League.
An update on tonight’s game.
