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The San Francisco Giants two-game series against the Seattle Mariners has reportedly been postponed. The teams were supposed to open the series on Tuesday night at Safeco Field, but poor air quality has led to its postponement.
Both teams are now headed to San Francisco, to play the series at Oracle Park. There’s no word yet on how the series will be played, but there are two options: a doubleheader on Wednesday, or single games on Wednesday and Thursday. Thursday was originally scheduled as an off day for both teams.
Per source, Giants are preparing to head back to San Francisco. Tonight’s game is likely to be canceled and moved to Oracle Park. Air quality in Seattle is too big a problem.
— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) September 15, 2020
Mariners-Giants in Seattle tonight postponed, sources tell The Athletic. Teams flying to San Francisco, where game is expected to be rescheduled. On it: @PavlovicNBCS.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) September 15, 2020
This is certainly the right decision by the teams, and by MLB. With a huge portion of Oregon and Washington on fire, the smoky air in Seattle is simply not safe to play baseball in.
According to the air quality monitoring site PurpleAir, the air quality in Seattle is hanging around the 200 mark, and often exceeding 200. The site describes air quality in the 200-300 range as, “Health alert: everyone may experience more serious health effects if they are exposed for 24 hours.” And while Safeco Field has a roof, it is not an enclosed arena, just a covered one.
This is now the third time that the Giants have had games postponed, following a false positive coronavirus test and a postponement made in protest of the police shooting of Jacob Blake. That, of course, comes after a four-month delay to the season due to the coronavirus pandemic.
It’s safe to say that baseball in 2020 is unlike anything we’ve ever seen. But it’s good to see that MLB is putting safety first this time around, and moving the games to a healthier atmosphere.