The Nationals have changed the schedule of their weekend series against the Phillies at Nationals Park due to the potential impact of Hurricane Ian in Washington, D.C., the club announced Thursday.
The series, which opens Friday evening, was originally slated to include a doubleheader on Saturday. Now, the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader will be played Friday at 1:05 p.m. ET, and all tickets for the matchup will be honored Friday afternoon. The Phillies and Nationals will still play Friday night’s originally scheduled game at 7:05 p.m. ET.
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On Saturday, the first contest of the original doubleheader will be held at 1:05 p.m. ET as scheduled. The four-game series is slated to conclude Sunday afternoon with the first pitch at 1:35 p.m. ET.
“We will continue to work closely with MLB as the weather situation unfolds,” the Nationals said in a statement.
The Athletic reported Thursday morning that MLB worked on contingency plans Wednesday, calling for single games in the afternoons on Saturday and Sunday. The league did not plan to relocate the series, according to sources.
If the Phillies and Nationals cannot play all four games this weekend, there is a small window to reschedule. The league installed one off day — Oct. 6 — between the end of the regular season (Oct. 5) and the start of the three-game Wild Card Series (Oct. 7). If the Phillies have yet to clinch a postseason spot, they would return to Washington after three games in Houston to play the Nationals in a makeup contest.
Philadelphia is vying for a National League wild-card spot and holds the third and final spot. The team is 13 games behind the Braves and 2 1/2 games back of the Padres while holding a half-game lead over the Brewers.
If the Phillies are unable to play two games this weekend but only need one win on Oct. 6 to qualify for the postseason, they will not have to play both makeup games in Washington. Win one, you’re in, and the other game disappears, according to sources.
Washington, D.C. is expected to get several inches of heavy rain this weekend, starting on Friday, because of Hurricane Ian. The hurricane made landfall in southwestern Florida on Wednesday night as a Category 4. Rain will begin moving north of Florida, and moderate to heavy rain and scattered flooding are potential threats to the D.C. region, according to the National Weather Service.
(Photo: Tommy Gilligan / USA Today)