Guardians vs. Pirates Game Postponed Due to Air Quality Concerns From Canadian Wildfires

Canadian wildfire smoke is continuing to impact sports schedules across the United States.

The Cleveland Guardians announced shortly before Friday evening's first pitch against the Pittsburgh Pirates the game would be postponed due to air quality conditions.

The game will now take place during a Saturday doubleheader, according to the Guardians.

There has been a statewide air quality alert in place in Ohio since Wednesday.

The decision to postpone the game took place after a conference call between the Guardians, Pirates and MLB, according to Cleveland.com's Joe Noga.

The MLS and NWSL have also had matches impacted by poor air quality, which is occurring days before the 2026 FIFA World Cup final takes place Sunday afternoon in New Jersey.

As of Friday, more than 100 million people across 18 states and Washington, D.C. were impacted by air quality alerts due to the wildfires in Canada, per CNN meteorologists Dakota Smith and Brandon Miller.

Smoky conditions previously caused MLB to push up the start time of a Thursday evening game between the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies.

Smoke was visible in the sky during Thursday's game, in which ESPN's Buster Olney reported MLB officials were continuing to monitor air quality.

The Phillies' Brandon Marsh said after the game the ball was at times "pretty tough to see" in the outfield.

The Mets and Phillies are scheduled to play again Friday in Philadelphia, the day after the city issued an alert stating the air quality is "very unhealthy to breathe, and everyone is likely to experience health effects from being exposed."

The New York and New Jersey area, which is also under a health quality alert, is set to host the World Cup final between Spain and Argentina Sunday at 3 p.m. ET.

The Spanish team has been working outdoors in New Jersey since Thursday, while the Argentinian team begins training there Friday, per BBC's Nada Tawfik.

ESPN reported Friday the final "is not under any threat despite the air quality warnings in the area" due to this weekend's improving forecast.