World Series Preview: Weather a Factor for Game 4
DETROIT 1-2 at St. Louis 2-1 :: Matchup – Scoreboard
Off and on drizzle fell at Busch Stadium before the scheduled start of Game 4 of the World Series on Wednesday night.
In early afternoon, the infield was covered with a silver tarp, and low clouds frequently obscured the Gateway Arch beyond center field.
In a postseason that already has seen its share of foul weather, rain was forecast for Wednesday night.
“We’re expecting a fairly persistent, light rain or drizzle throughout the game,” said Mark Britt, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in suburban St. Louis. “There could be some brief moderate rain.
“Overall, it looks like kind of an ugly night – nothing severe.”
He projected total rainfall during the game of one-tenth to one-quarter of an inch.
The game-time temperature was expected to be in the low-40s at best – the late-afternoon reading was 43 degrees. By game’s end, temperatures were to dip into the 30s, Britt said.
If the tonights World Series Game 4 does go off as planned, St. Louis will be a -103 favorite over Detroit who is listed as -107 underdogs according to Online Sports Book Bodog.com (Website). The total has been set by Bodog at over 7.5 total runs.
“I think we might as well all be prepared for some tough, ugly conditions tonight,” Tigers manager Jim Leyland said about three hours before the game was scheduled to start. “So far I’ve been told that we are definitely going to play and we are probably going to play through some real tough conditions because, from what I understand, the forecast for the next two days is probably worse.”
Cardinals manager Tony La Russa made some lineup choices because of the weather, starting Preston Wilson in left and Chris Duncan in right.
“It’s a little treacherous out there,” La Russa said. “We were thinking about getting an extra left hand hitter in there against (Jeremy) Bonderman, and we went with an extra right hander, just to make sure we had a better outfield defense.”
The teams may catch a bit of a break on Thursday, when Game 5 is scheduled. Another front bringing potentially heavy rain is on the way, but shouldn’t arrive until after Thursday night’s game, Britt said.
“Tomorrow night we’ll be between storm systems,” Britt said. “There’s still a chance of rain, but the chance at game time doesn’t look as bad.”
Thursday night’s temperature is expected to be slightly warmer, perhaps in the mid-40s, Britt said.
Two games of the NL championship series between the Cardinals and Mets were postponed due to rain: the opener in New York and Game 5 in St. Louis. And on the day before Game 3 of the ALCS between the A’s and Tigers, players worked out at Comerica Park in the earliest measurable snowfall in Detroit’s history.