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NEW YORK — The anticipation of winter weather has forced the New York Mets, Cleveland Guardians and Chicago White Sox to change scheduled night games to afternoon starts on Tuesday.
The Mets announced Monday that scheduled night games against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday and Wednesday have been changed to afternoon games because of expected cold and windy conditions.
The Mets scheduled the first pitch for each game for 4:10 p.m. ET. The games had been set for 7:10 p.m. starts.
Tuesday's game between the Kansas City Royals and Cleveland Guardians has been moved up five hours to a 1:10 p.m. ET first pitch. The change was made because temperatures are expected to be below freezing at night.
The time change was also made to avoid a backlog in the schedule or another doubleheader early in the season. Kansas City had a twinbill against Milwaukee on Saturday after Friday's game was postponed, while Cleveland is coming off a doubleheader against the Chicago Cubs on Sunday when Saturday's game was rained out.
Meanwhile, the White Sox moved up the first pitch for Tuesday's game against the Baltimore Orioles from 6:40 p.m. CT to 2:10 p.m. because of expected cold temperatures.
The Mets said in appreciation for the fans' "understanding, commitment and flexibility" the team was offering a limited number of complimentary tickets to each game.
The Mets said the complimentary tickets to the afternoon games will be offered on a first-come, first-served bases. Fans can log onto Mets.com/Tickets and enter code THANKYOU to claim up to four tickets for each game.
Additionally, the Mets are offering vouchers to a future game to fans who have already purchased tickets for the Tuesday or Wednesday games. The vouchers will be good for home regular-season games scheduled for Monday through Thursday.
All tickets for the previously scheduled night games will be valid for the afternoon games.
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