BALTIMORE -- Wednesday's scheduled game between the Orioles and the Yankees in Baltimore has been postponed due to inclement weather. The game will be made up at 1:35 p.m. ET on Thursday, which was originally a scheduled off-day for both teams.
Following a two-hour, 14-minute rain delay on Tuesday, Kevin Gausman and the Orioles were set to square off against Sonny Gray and the Yankees in the series finale of the three-game series at Camden Yards, but they will now wait until Thursday to take the mound.
Tickets for Wednesday's game will be automatically honored for the Thursday's makeup. No exchange is necessary, and fans should bring their original Wednesday tickets to the ballpark gates for admission to Thursday's game. All ballpark gates will open at noon, and parking lots will open at 11:30 a.m.
"The priority is to always play the game," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "I'm glad we got iit n last night because that would've been a real tough time."
What was supposed to be a 7:05 p.m. ET start on Wednesday was called off just before 5 p.m. after the projected forecast called for rain the rest of the evening.
"You try to [make the decision to call a game] as a group. You try to not ram it down somebody's throat," Showalter said. "We do take a lot pride. [Our crew does] a great job with the rain and getting ahead with things. I could take you back there to the rain room and there's makeup dates before the series starts. All the different variables you have to keep in mind, so you know your options going into the game."
There are plenty of playoff implications, as the Orioles are 3 1/2 games behind the American League Wild Card-leading Yankees and one game behind the Twins and Angels for the second AL Wild Card spot (with the Angels a half-game ahead of Baltimore), while the Yankees are four games behind the Red Sox in the AL East and currently hold ta 2 1/2-game advantage for the first AL Wild Card spot..
"I don't think you want to stick around and maybe start a game at midnight, and then not knowing exactly when it's going to stop raining," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "It's probably best for all. It's supposed to be sunny tomorrow. That'll be the first time we've seen the sun in a while."
This is the last series of the season between the two teams at Camden Yards. The Yankees lead the season series, 8-6, and there is a four-game series in a week at Yankee Stadium.
"There's a lot of variables that play into it like start times, television, fans," Showalter said. "They're going to Texas and gain an hour. And we're going to Cleveland and staying the same. We have an 8 o'clock game Sunday night after a 1 o'clock game on Saturday after a night game on Friday. There's a lot of things going on right now."