Air-quality concerns resulting from the smoke of Canadian wildfires resulted in another postponement from Major League Baseball on Thursday. The Diamondbacks and Nationals had their 1:05 p.m. ET game called off in Washington, D.C., and will instead make it up game on June 22, the league announced. MLB postponed a pair of contests on Wednesday (Yankees-White Sox in New York and Phillies-Tigers in Philadelphia) as smoke blanketed parts of the Northeast.
"This postponement was determined following conversations throughout the day with medical and weather experts and the two impacted Clubs regarding clearly hazardous air quality conditions in Washington, DC.," MLB said in a statement.
The Yankees and Phillies were both able to host games on Thursday, however. MLB monitored the situations in both cities before giving the green light in New York and Philadelphia. The Yankees were playing a doubleheader against Chicago to make up for Wednesday's lost game, while the Phillies and Tigers were playing their series finale after taking Wednesday off.
According to AirNow.Gov, both the New York and Philadelphia air quality was recorded as "unhealthy" as of 5 p.m. ET. Here's more on the wildfires from CBS News.
The Phillies, who host the Tigers tonight, are the last team impacted by the air quality to host a home game today. It appears, that like the Yankees, the Phillies will be given the green light.
With the sky no longer orange, the Yankees and White Sox started the first game of their doubleheader just after 4 p.m.
New York manager Aaron Boone told reporters that MLB expects the Yankees to play both games of their doubleheader on Thursday against the White Sox. Air quality has been gradually improving throughout the day in New York.
MLB is keeping tabs on the air quality in New York and Philadelphia this afternoon. The Yankees' doubleheader against the White Sox is set to start at 4:05 p.m. ET, while the Phillies are supposed to host the Tigers at 6:05.
As of 1:15 p.m. ET, AirNow says the air quality in both cities is in the "unhealthy" range.
Still 3.5 hours until first pitch in the Bronx, but the Yankees are preparing for business as usual against the White Sox.
The Yankees and White Sox are scheduled to play Game 1 of their doubleheader at 4:05 p.m. ET. That game is on as scheduled for now.
MLB has postponed this afternoon's Nationals-Diamondbacks game. First pitch was originally scheduled for 1:05 but the air quality is still "very unhealthy" in DC.
Still no official word, but Nationals manager Davey Martinez tells reporters the air is "pretty bad out there" at Nats Park.
MLB's first decision of the day will come in D.C., where the air quality has slightly improved since this morning but is still listed as "very unhealthy" as of 11 a.m. Here's a look at Nats Park from this morning:
First pitch is currently scheduled for 1:05 p.m. ET. The Nationals have not yet released a lineup. MLB could potentially postpone the series finale or delay the start time.
