MLB announces game time change for Guardians vs. Tigers ALDS Game 5

The Cleveland Guardians or Detroit Tigers’ season will end on Saturday, and one will advance to the ALCS to face the New York Yankees.

The winner-take-all Game 5 contest was originally supposed to be played at 8:08 pm on Saturday night, making it the only game of the day. However, Mother Nature had other plans and MLB had to adjust the start time due to rain.

Now, the Guardians and Tigers will play Game 5 in the afternoon, starting at 1:08 p.m., to avoid the severe weather expected to hit northern Ohio at night.

Here is MLB’s official statement on the change:

“Major League Baseball today announced that Saturday’s fifth playoff game of the American League Division Series between the Cleveland Guardians and Detroit Tigers has been rescheduled from 8:08 p.m. ET to 1:08 p.m. ET due to forecast inclement weather in Cleveland, the 1:08 p.m. ET game, which will be broadcast exclusively on TBS and Max, will determine whether the Guardians or Tigers face the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series presented by LoanDepot, starting Monday at the Stadium. Yankee.”

While the game’s start time will be pushed back seven hours, the mindset will remain the same for Guardians. They need to have a good, patient game plan in the box against Tigers ace Tarik Skubal, who was dominant early in Game 2.

One thing Cleveland has going for them is that the first time they saw Skubal in the series, the game started at 4:08 p.m. This time of day is historically difficult for hitters at Progressive Field because of the shadows that fall between the mound and the batter’s box.

While it would be cool to see a primetime win or a homecoming game at Progressive Field, MLB taking a proactive approach to ensure neither team is affected by the weather is definitely the right decision.