Yankees, Guardians to begin ALDS Game 5 in rain delay

The New York Yankees and Cleveland Guardians were scheduled to begin their win-or-go-home Game 5 of the American League Division Series at 7:07 pm ET. But as Monday afternoon turning into evening, the forecast for the night in the Bronx continued to look ominous. It wasn’t as bad as the washout that pushed Game 2 from Thursday night to Friday afternoon, but it was certainly enough to cause consternation in pregame press conferences.

After multiple meetings, Major League Baseball has made the decision to begin Game 5 in a rain delay. The tarp is not on the field (update: now it is), and it’s not technically raining just yet, but the Yankees definitely do not want to have a start-and-stop situation — and neither do the Guardians for that matter.

In the worst-case scenario, both teams and the league have discussed playing Game 5 tomorrow night instead. No one really wants that, particularly with Game 1 of the National League Championship Series between the Phillies and Padres beginning on Tuesday as well. But it’s certainly an option.

Reportedly, Game 5 getting pushed back to tomorrow would not necessarily mean Shane Bieber on three days’ rest for Cleveland. Manager Terry Francona said that Aaron Civale would still get the start, though whether that would also be against Jameson Taillon is anyone’s guess. Nestor Cortes would, of course, also be on three days’ rest, so a similar general plan to the Yankees’ Taillon/Cortes/Domingo Germán/”whoever is raring to go” setup seems likely.

Let’s hope that they can just get the game in tonight. But an immediately forthcoming first pitch time doesn’t seem to be in the offing.