No decision has been made as to whether the Orioles will play today's scheduled game against the Chicago White Sox. And if the Orioles do play a baseball game, were still not certain when or where it will occur.
All the possibilities were still being discussed late Monday night and early today. As of 9:20 this morning, no decision has been made and an Orioles spokesman said the team will relay any update immediately via email and social media.
On Monday, moments after the Orioles announced they were postponing their series opener against the White Sox, new commissioner Rob Manfred indicated the series could be moved to another site, also saying that Nationals Park, which is about 40 minutes south of Camden Yards, could be an option.
But now, it seems more likely that the Orioles will attempt to resume play at Camden Yards. Since Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings Blake has enacted a week-long 10 p.m. curfew starting today, the Orioles would likely play during the day rather than the scheduled 7:05 p.m. start time. A 1 p.m. or 4 p.m. start would allow the Orioles to play and finish before the curfew.
No decision has been made, but according to a source, the Orioles would rather do everything possible to attempt to play today in Baltimore before engaging any thought of relocating games to alternative sites.
The Orioles homestand runs through Sunday, and the Nationals next home game isnt until Monday, but moving the teams game to Nationals Park offers several challenges, including staffing and ticketing issues.
There isnt much precedent handling these situations. During the Los Angeles riots in spring 1992, the Dodgers three-game series against the Montreal Expos was postponed until the Expos next trips to Los Angeles in July, when the teams made up the games with three straight days of doubleheaders.
This is the White Soxs only trip to Baltimore this season. The Orioles play a three-game series in Chicago over Fourth of July weekend.
Much like Monday and dating back to Saturday the situation is a fluid one. The Orioles work closely with local authorities to gauge public safety and any potentially dangerous situation. Most times, they are advised by the local police and other times they are directed by local authorities, like Saturday nights lockdown.
Following Thursday's off day, the Orioles end their homestand with a three-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays. A protest in the city has been planned for Saturday.
The Rays are monitoring the events in Baltimore andThe Tampa Bay Times suggested that there could be a possibility of moving this weekend's games to Tropicana Field in exchange for playing a series scheduled for St. Petersburg later this season in Baltimore. Rays officials told The Times Monday night they had not been contacted about moving the games to the Trop or elsewhere.
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