East Coast weather may affect final weekend
With berths and positioning still to be determined as Major League Baseball gets set for the final weekend of the regular season, the possibility of rain from Hurricane Joaquin striking the East Coast has raised the question of when games might be played in the event of postponement.
Major League Baseball's general policy is that all 162 games of a team's season have to be played if they are meaningful, so a handful of teams with something at stake may need to play a doubleheader during the weekend or even a makeup game on Monday, if necessary.
The National League East champion Mets -- scheduled to wrap up the regular season with games at Citi Field against the Nationals on Friday, Saturday and Sunday -- already know that they will play the NL West champion Dodgers in the NL Division Series. But they may not know until Sunday -- or later -- which team will have home-field advantage in the best-of-five set.
If the Mets and Dodgers hold the same record at the end of the regular season, New York holds the tiebreaker based on a 4-3 head-to-head record against Los Angeles during the regular season.
The Yankees entered Thursday's series finale against the Red Sox -- the last regular-season game at Yankee Stadium this year -- with a 2 1/2-game lead over the Astros for the top American League Wild Card spot. New York is scheduled to wrap up the regular season with games at Baltimore on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. If the Yankees and Astros finish with the same record, Houston would host the AL Wild Card Game presented by Budweiser because it won the season series against New York, 4-3.
The Pirates, two games ahead of the Cubs for the top NL Wild Card spot, are scheduled to play the first of three against the Reds in Pittsburgh on Friday night. If the Cubs and Pirates finish with the same record, the Cubs will host the NL Wild Game presented by Budweiser by virtue of winning the season series against the Bucs, 11-8.