Major League Baseball postponed games in New York and Philadelphia on Wednesday night because of poor air quality caused by smoke from Canadian wildfires.
A National Women’s Soccer League game in New Jersey and an indoor WNBA game set for Brooklyn were also called off Wednesday amid hazy conditions that have raised alarms from health authorities.
The New York Yankees’ game against the Chicago White Sox was rescheduled as part of a doubleheader starting at 4.05pm on Thursday, and the Philadelphia Phillies’ game against the Detroit Tigers was reset for 6.05pm on Thursday, originally an off day for both teams.
“These postponements were determined following conversations throughout the day with medical and weather experts and all of the impacted clubs regarding clearly hazardous air quality conditions in both cities,” MLB said in a statement.
And scene inside Yankee Stadium… pic.twitter.com/ocPBsPk0ZB
— Erik Boland (@eboland11) June 7, 2023
The National Weather Service issued an air quality alert for New York City, saying: “the New York State Department of Health recommends that individuals consider limiting strenuous outdoor physical activity to reduce the risk of adverse health effects.” In Philadelphia, the NWS issued a Code Red.
The Yankees and White Sox played through a lesser haze on Tuesday night. Additionally, a Wednesday night contest between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Washington Nationals in the nation’s capital will go forward as scheduled.
The NWSL postponed Orlando’s match at Gotham in Harrison, New Jersey, from Wednesday night to 9 August.
“The match could not be safely conducted based on the projected air quality index,” the NWSL said.
At nearby Belmont Park, the New York Racing Association said training went on as planned ahead of Saturday’s Triple Crown horse race.
“NYRA utilizes external weather services and advanced on-site equipment to monitor weather conditions and air quality in and around Belmont Park,” spokesman Patrick McKenna said Wednesday. “Training was conducted normally today, and NYRA will continue to assess the overall environment to ensure the safety of training and racing throughout the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival.”
Later Wednesday, the WNBA announced that a scheduled contest between the Minnesota Lynx and the New York Liberty at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center would also be postponed after smoke reportedly entered the arena.
The smoke pouring into the US east coast and midwest on Wednesday came from more than 400 blazes in Canada. It has raised alarms from health authorities about poor air quality.
A two-game series in Seattle between the Mariners and the Giants was moved to San Francisco in September 2020 because of because of poor air quality caused by West Coast wildfires.
New York’s NFL teams, the Giants and Jets, both had Wednesday off from offseason workouts. The Giants had been planning to practice inside Thursday, and the Jets say they are also likely to work out indoors Thursday.
A number of minor-league baseball games were postponed
