With rain in forecast, Nats move Thursday's game up to 12:05 p.m.

By Mark Zuckerman

Nationals

May 24, 2017, 1:10pm

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Faced with an ominous forecast, the Nationals are moving up the start time of Thursday's game to 12:05 p.m., hoping to get their series finale with the Mariners in before the worst of the expected rain arrives in the area.

It's a highly unusual move for a franchise that rarely, if ever, makes weather-related decisions that far in advance. But there were several factors at play in this case that may have made it necessary.

Thursday's forecast calls for morning rain, then a midday break before another round hits in the late afternoon. It's a tight window, but the Nationals felt they have a better chance of playing at 12:05 p.m. than they would have for the originally scheduled 4:05 p.m. game.

Complicating matters is the fact this is the Mariners' only trip to Washington this season. (Actually, it's their only trip here in six years, given the nature of interleague scheduling.) A postponement would require an extra trip later in the season just to play one game, and Seattle already deals with the worst travel schedule in baseball because of the city's remote location.

The Mariners do come back to the region Aug. 28-30 to face the Orioles at Camden Yards and have Aug. 31 off. But the Nationals, after hosting the Marlins from Aug. 28-30, open a four-game series in Milwaukee on Aug. 31, making that potential makeup date impossible.

Tickets for Thursday's originally scheduled 4:05 p.m. game will be honored at the gates for the rescheduled 12:05 p.m. game. For more information, go to nationals.com/rain.