​The Thursday game between the Chicago Cubs and Baltimore Orioles has been moved up by five hours due to the forecast for rain. The Orioles announced on Wednesday that first pitch at Oriole Park at Camden Yards will now be at 1:35 p.m. ET instead of the originally scheduled 6:35 p.m., as a soggy forecast forced the shift and left fans scrambling to adapt on short notice.
Baltimore’s front office isn’t alone in flagging trouble. A number of independent weather trackers covering the Camden Yards area are signaling the same afternoon storm risk, aligning with the decision to shift the game from evening to early afternoon to avoid the potential rainout later in the day. “Tomorrow’s game versus the Cubs has been moved to 1:35 p.m. due to forecasted inclement weather,” the Orioles posted on Wednesday night. Gates will open at 1:00 p.m., 35 minutes before the new start time.
The move also came after the Orioles consulted with Major League Baseball, opting to switch Thursday’s matchup from a night game to a day game in order to dodge a wave of storms expected to roll through the region. Forecasters are tracking showers and thunderstorms with an 80 percent chance of precipitation on Thursday, according to the National Weather Service’s Baltimore forecast. The high is expected to reach 88 degrees, with a low around 73 overnight, and about a quarter to half an inch of rain possible where storms hit. The heaviest weather activity is anticipated in the afternoon and early evening—the same window the original 6:35 p.m. start would have occupied.
Local trackers, including WBAL’s weather desk, are calling for a similar pattern of showers and thunderstorms moving through the city on Thursday. The early start gives the Orioles a better shot at getting nine innings in before the skies open up, though storms are still expected to build mainly after 3 p.m., meaning even the 1:35 p.m. start isn’t a guarantee of dry baseball through the final out.
Fans with tickets for the original 6:35 p.m. slot do not need to take any action other than arriving five hours earlier. Those tickets remain valid for the 1:35 p.m. start, the team confirmed. Those who can’t make the earlier time can find options through the Orioles’ ballpark weather page, which the team directed fans to in a follow-up post.
The pitching matchup remains unchanged with the clock: David Peterson is slated to start for the Cubs, opposite Trevor Rogers for the Orioles, according to ESPN’s probable pitchers listing for the series. Both pitchers are left-handers, creating a lefty-on-lefty afternoon at Camden Yards. Peterson’s value to the Cubs’ rotation has been a point of emphasis for those following the team, as the timing of the game adds an extra variable to the pitching plan and how the Cubs might approach the afternoon contest.