The Cleveland Guardians won the first game of the ALCS. The Tampa Bay Rays won the second.
The weather forecast is making a run at Game 3 and beyond.
Major League Baseball announced on Wednesday that Thursday’s Game 3 has been moved up five hours. First pitch will now be at 1 p.m. ET.
“The change, which is based on forecasted rain on Thursday night in Cleveland, is being made proactively in order to remain on schedule in the ALCS,” MLB said in a statement.
The next three games of the series are scheduled in Cleveland, which has a ballpark open to the elements.
If the best-of-seven series makes it to Games 6 and 7, those are back at domed Tropicana Field.
The most compelling question, though, is whether the time change is enough.
The Guardians are slated to host Game 3 on Thursday, Game 4 on Friday and Game 5 on Saturday in Cleveland. If the forecast isn’t kind, things could get moved around even more.
Cleveland Weather Forecast
Let’s start with the forecast for Thursday, Oct. 15, when the game has been pushed up five hours.
The hourly forecast on AccuWeather currently shows that at 1 p.m. on Thursday in Cleveland, it’ll be 64 degrees with just a 9% chance of precipitation.
It’s at 5 p.m. on the current forecast that the chance of precipitation rises to 61%, and it stays at 61% at 6 p.m., drops to 49% at 7 p.m. and rises to 73% at 8 p.m.
The forecast as currently constructed would suggest that the Guardians and Rays can beat the rain on Thursday.
Currently, Friday’s game is still scheduled for 6 p.m., and two days out, that shows a 34% chance of rain at that time. The chance rises above 50% beginning at 8 p.m. and into the evening.
MLB likely doesn’t have an opportunity to move the game up on Friday, though, because the rain chances are actually higher at 1 p.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. than they are at the scheduled 6 p.m. first pitch. It could be quite touch-and-go to get through Friday’s game one way or the other.
AccuWeather doesn’t yet have a full hourly forecast for Saturday, but while it lists the day wit ha 55% chance of precipitation, it says the total hours of rain will be just 1 — so it’ll move in and out and probably not be a problem. First pitch is scheduled for 8 p.m. on Saturday.
Pitching Impact
The biggest impact on the Guardians and Rays will be on pitching, which often calls for caution when guys have to sit through rain delays.
The good news is that the postseason is so bullpen-heavy anyway that it might not be a huge deal.
It would hurt the most if a guy like Gavin Williams pitched two innings, then had to sit through a two-hour rain delay — the Guardians probably couldn’t risk bringing him out after his arm was cold for so long, but it’d also be painful to not keep him in the game.
MLB surely will try to avoid long delays in the middle of games, but the weather on the shores of Lake Erie looks like it’ll be tricky.
Cleveland Weather Forecast: Guardians’ Postponement Risk Real in ALCS After Time Change