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Is the White Sox-Guardians game delayed today? Get the latest weather delay updates, first pitch time and when the game is expected to begin.
Rain washed out Sunday’s start time between the Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field, where the tarp went down well before the scheduled 2:00 p.m. ET first pitch.
The delay lands at the worst possible moment for both AL Central contenders, who are separated by a single game in the standings and now face a soggy scramble to salvage a series finale that already had significant implications for playoff position heading toward the All-Star break.
Grounds crews kept the tarp on the field as White Sox relievers loosened up down the right-field line, according to MLB.com‘s Scott Merkin. Sports meteorologist Kevin Roth flagged a storm cell sliding southeast through the region, and projected a lengthy hold followed by a clean game once condition s cleared. An in-game stoppage or a full postponement remained on the table.
Other observers tracking the system over Lake Erie doubted the teams would get on the field without a delay stretching well past two hours. One prediction pegged the disruptive cell’s window at roughly 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., squarely over the scheduled start, with low clouds already hanging over the ballpark by early afternoon.
Radar out of the National Weather Service’s Cleveland office showed active storm returns moving through the region Sunday.
What a Delay Means for the Chicago White Sox
Chicago enters the day fresh off a 3-1 win on Saturday behind a go-ahead home run from Colson Montgomery, a result that pulled the White Sox into a share of the division lead. Left-hander Chris Murphy, sporting a 3.79 ERA, was lined up to start before the weather intervened.
An off day looms on the schedule, softening the blow of any lengthy wait and giving Chicago’s bullpen a chance to recover from a taxing week. A full postponement would be a different story, erasing an immediate shot to gain ground on Cleveland in a head-to-head matchup and pushing the makeup date into an already crowded stretch that includes a series opener against the Boston Red Sox.
Guardians Face Bigger Stakes at Home
Cleveland, sitting a half-game back after Saturday’s loss, has more to lose from a scrapped date. A postponement would strip the Guardians of a home gate and the chance to build on a stretch of extra-inning drama that has defined their recent run, according to MLB.com‘s recap of Cleveland’s bullpen.
Right-hander Tanner Bibee, already carrying a rough 2-9 record, would see his next turn pushed back if the game is scrapped and rescheduled, according to Baseball Reference’s preview of Sunday’s matchup. That would likely mean a doubleheader later this month, adding bullpen strain during an already condensed stretch that features a trip to Minnesota starting Monday.
Forecasts pointed to a 64 percent chance of rain at first pitch, with hourly totals staying elevated into the late afternoon, according to RotoWire’s hourly forecast for Cleveland. It would mark the second rain delay of the series, after a Friday stoppage that began moments after Chicago had taken the lead, according to Cleveland.com’s report on Friday’s stoppage.
Umpires and the grounds crew will make the call on how long the wait lasts, weighing safety and playing conditions before determining whether Sunday’s finale gets played in full, in a shortened form, or not at all. Both clubs sit within a game of each other in the standings, a gap thin enough to leave little margin for a missed opportunity.
Jonathan Vankin JONATHAN VANKIN is an award-winning journalist who covers MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL, boxing, golf, and Olympic sports for Heavy.com. He twice won New England Newspaper and Press Association awards for sports feature writing. He was a sports editor and writer at The Daily Yomiuri in Tokyo, Japan, covering the Olympics, pro baseball, boxing, sumo and other sports. More about Jonathan Vankin
