The Cleveland Guardians were supposed to resume play on Friday night against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Progressive Field. They wrapped up the first half last weekend with a sweep in Miami and were eager to start the second one on the right foot.
That won’t be happening on Friday anymore. The game has officially been postponed due to air quality conditions.
The league tried to play it, but the conditions just weren’t ideal for baseball at Progressive Field.
An update on tonight's game.#GuardsBall pic.twitter.com/P96JSWZ952
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) July 17, 2026
According to an official release from the Guardians, the game ‘will be rescheduled as part of a split doubleheader on Saturday, July 18, with the rescheduled game starting at 1:10 p.m. ET and the original July 18 game starting at 7:10 p.m. ET.’
The team clarified that fans holding tickets for Friday will be able to use them for the first game of the doubleheader on Saturday.
Fans expecting to watch the Guardians after a few days off will have to wait a few more hours. The team is 51-46, tied with the Chicago White Sox at the top of the AL Central as of Friday.
Depending on the result of the White Sox’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday night, Cleveland will wake up on Saturday either first or second in the division. The two squads are in the middle of an exciting race that will likely go down to the wire and will depend on what they do before the August 3 trade deadline.
Cleveland is expected to send out Gavin Williams to the mound for the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader. Joey Cantillo will toe the rubber for the nightcap, and Tanner Bibee will take the ball on Sunday. Logan Allen has been called up to be 27th man on the roster.
The team used the All-Star break to rest and hit the reset button for a few days. With the exception of All-Stars Parker Messick, Cade Smith, and Travis Bazzana, everyone else was able to enjoy a little break from another stressful yet very exciting season.
They will have a big day ahead on Saturday, and the hope is that they can take two wins and get off to a nice start in the second half.
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