Why is the White Sox-Cardinals Game Delayed Today? When Will it Start?

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Why is the White Sox-Cardinals game delayed today? Here’s the latest on the delay and when the game at Busch Stadium is expected to start.

Rain closed in on Busch Stadium on Friday evening, and the Chicago White Sox-St. Louis Cardinals series opener sat under a weather delay. Grounds crews hooked tarp carts to the field as skies darkened, according to a reporter tracking conditions near the ballpark, with the scheduled 8:15 p.m. EDT first pitch now by the boards.

“Tonight’s start of Cardinals-White Sox is officially in a delay due to poor weather that is approaching,”reported Derrick Goold, lead baseball writer for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

At about 8:45 p.m., the Cardinals announced that the new start time for the game was expected to be 9:25 p.m. ET, or 8:25 CT.

Goold didn’t sound so sure. “They’re hoping for an 8.25 p.m. St. Louis time first pitch here at Busch Stadium. Weather permitting,” he wrote at 8:46 p.m.

Finally at about 9 p.m. ET, 8 p.m. CT, the Cardinals posted their own announcement. “Weather permitting, tonight’s first pitch will be at 8:25 PM,” the team posted.

“The Cardinals grounds crew put the tarp on the field shortly after 6 p.m., and the skies opened up a few minutes later,” wrote James Fegan of the Chicago Sun-Times. “While the tarp has since been pulled, the Cardinals announced that the start of the game will be delayed, and have yet to provide a new first pitch time.”

Local coverage earlier Friday described a mostly cloudy day with scattered showers possible, especially south and east of the city, and highs in the low 80s, according to a Friday weather outlook from FOX 2.
With Chicago clinging to first place in the American League Central, and St. Louis mathematically buried in the NL Central, any delay long enough to pull a starter early could reshape both bullpens’ workloads for days.

Anthony Kay, Matthew Liberatore Face Delay

Left-hander Anthony Kay was lined up to start for Chicago, carrying a 9-8 record, 4.47 ERA and 116 strikeouts over 141 innings entering Friday, according to ESPN’s preview of the series opener. St. Louis countered with fellow lefty Matthew Liberatore, who has struggled badly of late, posting a 10.29 ERA over his last three outings to go with a 5-14 mark and 5.57 ERA on the season.

A prolonged delay complicates life for both pitchers. Starters who sit through an extended rain hold often lose their warm-up window entirely, forcing managers to lean on bullpens for bulk innings or an opener approach rather than risk a cold arm re-entering a game. Kay working on regular rest gives Chicago some cushion. Liberatore’s recent form gives St. Louis far less margin if his night ends early. Delays at Busch Stadium have historically run from 90 minutes to more than three hours, long enough to scratch a starter and push relievers into unplanned bulk innings.

White Sox Playoff Push, Cardinals’ Fading Season

Chicago entered Friday at 75-71, holding first place in the AL Central by 1 1/2 games over the Cleveland Guardians and sitting in position for the league’s No. 2 seed, according to CBS Sports’ latest playoff picture breakdown. The White Sox have dropped three straight and are just 32-40 on the road, making every game down the stretch a potential swing in seeding.

St. Louis, by contrast, has little left to play for. The Cardinals sat at 72-75, fourth in the NL Central, 19 games back of the Milwaukee Brewers and 6 1/2 games out of the final National League wild-card spot entering the series. St. Louis has also lost three in a row and carries a 34-38 home record into a series it can only use to build momentum into next season.

The opener is the first of three games between the clubs at Busch Stadium, with Chicago and St. Louis meeting again Saturday and Sunday to close out the interleague set. Chicago treats every remaining contest as high-leverage with October in reach. St. Louis is looking to stop the bleeding before the schedule runs out.

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