White Sox-Yankees game postponed due to smoke from wildfires
Yankee Stadium at 3:10 p.m. CT Wednesday.
Daryl Van Schouwen/Sun-Times
NEW YORK — The White Sox’ four-game winning streak, their longest this season, has been placed on hold.
By smoky skies, of all things.
The team’s scheduled game against the Yankees Wednesday was postponed due to smoky conditions around Yankee Stadium. The game is scheduled to be played as part of a doubleheader Thursday at 3:05 p.m. and 6:05 p.m. CT.
The Tigers game at Philadelphia was also called off. The postponements were determined following conversations with medical and weather experts and all of the impacted teams regarding clearly hazardous air quality conditions in both cities, MLB said in a statement.
Clouds of smoke wafting south from Canadian wildfires surrounded the stadium with a haze during the White Sox’ 3-2 win over the Yankees Tuesday night. Conditions worsened around the city and beyond by Wednesday afternoon.
Sox first baseman Andrew Vaughn said he woke up Wednesday morning with a cough and some discomfort in his chest, although both issues were minor, he said.
“Nothing too terrible,” said Vaughn, a Cal grad who has experienced effects from wildfire smoke during his college days. “Some of those [pop-ups Tuesday] went up and you kind of lose them for a second. It got a little hazy and you kind of lose them in the lights. It was definitely tough to see.”
Manager Pedro Grifol said left fielder Andrew Benintendi said he struggled to pick up a fly ball in the first inning Tuesday. On Wednesday, when Grifol got to the stadium, “it got a little concerning out there for us. Not that they were going to let us take [batting practice], but we canceled on our own. We weren’t going to go out there.”
“A couple of guys, myself, my throat started hurting a little bit,” Grifol said. “Maybe it’s mental, maybe it’s not. Still, they did the right thing.”
Around the ballpark and throughout the city Wednesday, the skies were dark and the heavy air smelled of smoke.
On the ground in Manhattan at 2 p.m., the appearance was more like dusk or dawn, with an orange tint in the atmosphere, but it was worse at the ballpark.
“Obviously can’t be too good,” the Sox’ Romy Gonzalez said. “It felt a little different today.”
The Yankees also canceled batting practice, as expected, and had planned to do pregame work inside.
“I walked out [to the field] and you see the orange coming through the doors,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said, “and then you walk out and you’re like, ‘Whoa.’”
The conditions seemed to improve somewhat about the time the game was called at 3:30 p.m. CT. Some Sox players were on the field playing catch and doing light work.
For the Sox, who have struggled this season but have won five of six games and were off Monday, a day off wasn’t exactly needed.
“We are well rested,” Grifol said. “We have another [off day] coming on Monday. I was always taught control what you can control and don’t worry about what you can’t control. We have to get ready to play [Thursday].
“We’re 1-0 in the series,” Vaughn said. “Got the early win and it would have been good to come back and play today.”
A National Women’s Soccer League game in New Jersey and an indoor WNBA game set for Brooklyn were also called off Wednesday.
It’s not the first time the Sox have had a road game postponed for reasons other than inclement weather. The team was in New York to play the Yankees on Sept. 11, 2001. And in April of 2015, a scheduled game at the Baltimore Orioles was called off after players arrived at Camden Yards due to civil unrest following the death of Freddie Gray.