
Weather concerns have raised questions about whether today’s game between the Minnesota Twins and Chicago Cubs will begin on time. Here’s the latest on any delay, the forecast and the expected first pitch. The tarp was on the field as of 11:30 a.m. CT, with lightning reported in the area.
If conditions continue to affect the ballpark, MLB could face several options before first pitch—and the next official update will determine whether fans should expect baseball on schedule or a delay.
The tarp came off the field shortly before first pitch and the game got underway at 1:21 p.m. CT. Showers were expected later in the day, however. So the possibility of an in-game delay remains.
Wrigley Field’s morning told part of the story before the tarp rolled out. Temperatures climbed into the low-to-mid 80s by mid-morning, cloud cover thickened overhead and wind gusted out of the west-northwest, according to real-time buoy data off Lake Michigan. Humidity sat near 70 percent, thickening the air well before the scheduled 2:20 p.m. ET first pitch.
None of that reading is unusual for Chicago in mid-July. What matters more for a 1:20 p.m. CT start is timing — whether the moisture clears the North Side before lineups take the field or lingers just long enough to force a hold. Grounds crews have kept the tarp within reach since batting practice, aware that a short delay is a very different outcome than a scrubbed afternoon.
| Chicago Cubs | ||||
| Record: 54-43 | ||||
| SP: Matthew Boyd (LHP) | 5-1 | 4.50 ERA | ||||
| # | Player | Pos | AVG | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pete Crow-Armstrong | CF | .288 | .526 |
| 2 | Seiya Suzuki | RF | .269 | .466 |
| 3 | Michael Busch | 1B | .239 | .393 |
| 4 | Alex Bregman | 3B | .239 | .357 |
| 5 | Ian Happ | LF | .221 | .430 |
| 6 | Nico Hoerner | 2B | .235 | .328 |
| 7 | Pedro Ramírez | DH | .246 | .386 |
| 8 | Dansby Swanson | SS | .209 | .408 |
| 9 | Miguel Amaya | C | .229 | .351 |
Minnesota Twins vs Chicago Cubs Rain Delay Timeline
Rain reached the ballpark before the tarps did. Cubs radio voice Zach Zaidman confirmed the wet conditions directly to listeners. “It’s currently raining at Wrigley Field,” Zaidman said, adding he was hopeful the rain would clear in time for an uninterrupted broadcast.
The 1:20 p.m. CT first pitch has not been pushed back as of an hour before schedeuled first pitch. Early radar activity moved through Wrigleyville in bands rather than settling in for the afternoon, according to RotoWire’s MLB weather desk, which flagged the Twins-Cubs matchup for a possible delay, noting rain probability near 50 percent around game time. Some models showed that number climbing higher in the 2 to 4 p.m. window, precisely the stretch that would overlap with the middle innings if the game starts on time.
| Minnesota Twins | ||||
| Record: 49-49 | ||||
| SP: Taj Bradley (RHP) | 9-3 | 3.59 ERA | ||||
| # | Player | Pos | AVG | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Austin Martin | RF | .248 | .326 |
| 2 | Ryan Jeffers | DH | .291 | .552 |
| 3 | Josh Bell | 1B | .248 | .427 |
| 4 | Victor Caratini | C | .240 | .371 |
| 5 | Brooks Lee | 3B | .249 | .426 |
| 6 | Kody Clemens | 2B | .239 | .475 |
| 7 | Ryan Kreidler | SS | .260 | .435 |
| 8 | Luke Keaschall | CF | .262 | .353 |
| 9 | Trevor Larnach | LF | .289 | .449 |
Twins-Cubs Weather Forecast
Hourly models painted a similar picture. Storm chances were expected to peak between 24 and 41 percent in the noon-to-2 p.m. window before decreasing, according to an hourly Chicago outlook from The Weather Channel. Winds were forecast to swing out of the north behind the front, a shift that could cut into Wrigley’s typically hitter-friendly summer air.
Highs were expected to fluctuate between the mid-80s and low 90s depending on how fast the cloud cover breaks, conditions consistent with a muggy Midwest July, according to AccuWeather’s regional outlook for the ballpark. None of the available models pointed toward a full postponement, and the day’s forecast called for skies clearing into the evening as the front finally pushed east of Lake Michigan.
Barring a longer delay, first pitch stands for 1:20 p.m. CT, 2:20 p.m. ET, at Wrigley Field and the Cubs hoping the home crowd — and any wind blowing out — gives their lineup a lift once the tarp comes off the infield.

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