Heavy rain in Cleveland has led to the postponement of Game 4 in the American League Championship Series. The stadium’s grounds crew had to pull the tarp before the scheduled first pitch, which was set for 8 p.m. ET.
Despite their efforts to start the game, by around 9 p.m. ET, MLB announced that the game would be rescheduled for Saturday. This decision also meant that Game 5 would take place on Sunday, which now eliminates the planned off day and travel day for both the Cleveland Guardians and the Tampa Bay Rays.
It’s worth noting that if the series goes to the maximum of seven games, the Guardians and Rays will be required to play four games over four consecutive days to determine who advances to the World Series. Games 6 and 7 are already slated for Monday and Tuesday, respectively.
In light of the bad weather, the Guardians issued a statement confirming that tickets bought for Friday’s game would still be valid for the rescheduled match.
Fans who had tickets for the original Game 4 on October 16 can use those same tickets for Game 5 on October 18 at 5:00 p.m. ET, with gates opening at 2:30 p.m. ET.
Interestingly, prior to this incident, it had been almost four years since rain caused a postseason game to be rescheduled. The last such instance occurred on Halloween in 2022, when Game 3 of the World Series between the Houston Astros and Philadelphia Phillies was delayed until the next day. The Phillies ended up shutting out the Astros 7-0 the following day.
