On Saturday, the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Guardians will face off for a deciding Game 5 in the AL Divisional Series. But the game will be happening a little sooner than expected.
MLB announced Friday that Saturday’s game, originally scheduled to start at 8:08 p.m. ET, will now start at 1:08 p.m. ET due to inclement weather expected in Cleveland.
Although Saturday will be sunny in Cleveland, a rainstorm is set to come into the area that night, with a thunderstorm expected shortly after 8 p.m., according to the National Weather Service.
The Guardians forced a Game 5 after defeating Detroit in a tight 5-4 win on Thursday. The winner of Saturday’s game will face off against the New York Yankees, who clinched a spot in the AL Championship Series after defeating the Kansas City Royals in Game 4.
The amended time may actually be a benefit in terms of viewership: Although the game will air alongside a busy college football slate, it will no longer have to compete with a massive matchup between No. 2 Ohio State and No. 3 Oregon in prime time.
While the final Tigers-Guardians matchup will cement the ALCS, the NL side of the bracket take shape Friday after the Los Angeles Dodgers host the San Diego Padres in a deciding Game 5 of the NLDS. The winner will face the New York Mets in the NLCS.
