The last week of the MLB regular season is here, and a storm system in New England could make an already tight playoff race even more complicated.
The Cubs enter the final three games holding the National League’s top wild-card spot over the Padres on a tiebreaker, with the Phillies sitting one game back. Chicago closes the season with a three-game series at Fenway Park against the Red Sox, a matchup that matters on both sides of the bracket. Boston has already clinched a playoff berth and sits in the AL’s second wild-card spot, but its seed is still unsettled.
That creates a scheduling headache MLB would rather not deal with. The regular season ends on Sunday, and the wild-card round starts two days later, so the league needs the Cubs-Red Sox series to finish cleanly and on time.
The weather forecast is not encouraging. An early-season nor’easter is forming in New England, and it could stretch into a multi-day event by the time the series begins.
NBC 10 Boston reported that its model guidance points to a familiar New England storm setup: strong wind, heavy rain, and the possibility of coastal flooding. The full moon later in the week only raises the concern for moderate or major flooding along the coast.
Small changes in the storm’s track and strength will matter, but the current expectation is for a significant system to bring soaking rain and gusty winds, especially near the shoreline.
If the weather does force a delay or cancellation, MLB could be staring at a late-season makeup scenario. That would bring back memories of the Mets and Braves in 2024, when heavy rain in Atlanta wiped out two games late in the season and forced the teams into a Monday doubleheader after the regular season was supposed to be over.
That situation carried far more drama. In 2024, playoff lives were on the line.
The stakes were simple: split the doubleheader and both teams would reach the postseason; one team sweeping both games would send the other home. The Mets won the opener, the Braves took the second game, and both clubs advanced.
Atlanta then got swept by the Padres in the wild-card round, while New York made a run to the NLCS before falling to the eventual World Series champion Dodgers.
This year’s setup is less severe, but still far from ideal. The Red Sox have already punched their ticket, and the Cubs are one win away from clinching theirs.
Chicago’s spot in the field looks safe, but its seeding is still unresolved. Even so, MLB has no interest in letting weather create a late-week mess that could turn into an unwanted doubleheader and force teams to play under the kind of disadvantage the league wants to avoid.
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