What scheduling changes has MLB made due to Hurricane Hilary’s Southern California approach?
As the western coast of the United States prepares for the arrival of the very serious Hurricane Hilary, MLB is taking steps to ensure the safety of its teams.
While the NFL continues to ‘monitor’ the situation ahead of Sunday’s game between the Los Angeles Chargers and the New Orleans Saints, it appears that MLB is taking no chances as the league has now taken the decision to move its scheduled games.
MLB reschedules 3 games due to Hurrican Hilary
According to an announcement from MLB, three games that were set to play on Sunday will now be rescheduled in light of Hurricane Hilary’s approach to Southern California. The Los Angeles Dodgers, previously slated to face the Miami Marlins, however, the teams will now be playing a split doubleheader at 3:00 p.m. ET and 9:10 p.m. ET on Saturday. There’s also the Los Angeles Angels’ game against the Tampa Bay Rays and the San Diego Padres’ game against the Arizona Diamondbacks which will now be played at 4:07 p.m. ET and 9:07 p.m. ET in Anaheim and 3:10 p.m. ET and 8:40 p.m. ET in San Diego. It is understood that all ticket holders will receive access to the early games on Saturday.
MLB has announced that three games in Southern California on Sunday have been rescheduled to split doubleheaders on Saturday in preparation for Hurricane Hilary.
— Noah Berger🧩🚂 (@Trainboy100) August 18, 2023
The #Marlins will play two games against the Dodgers tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/MeN3Fm2dy5
It’s worth noting that to have the three teams in Southern California simultaneously playing home series is not normal when it comes to the league’s scheduling, but with Hurricane Hilary expected to make landfall as early as Sunday night, timing is key. Incidentally, the league may in fact have to do more rescheduling in the coming days as both the Angels and Padres have home series which start on Monday. It’s reasonable to believe that their respective cities could still be under the effects of Hilary next week.
What’s the deal with Hurricane Hilary
As of Friday morning, Hilary was located 360 miles southwest of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico with maximum sustained winds of 145 mph, meaning it is currently a Category 4 storm according to CBS News. Thankfully - to an extent - Hilary is expected to downgrade to a tropical storm by the time it makes its projected arrival in Southern California on Sunday night. Speaking on Friday, hurricane and storm specialist for the Weather Channel, Greg Postel, stated that there will likely be “damaging wind gusts” especially at higher elevations and swells along the coast. “It is rare - indeed nearly unprecedented in the modern record - to have a tropical system like this move through Southern California,” said Postel.
Breathtaking view of Major Hurricane #Hilary as it approaches the Baja California Peninsula today pic.twitter.com/dQJbRHPN20
— Zoom Earth (@zoom_earth) August 18, 2023