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<\/p>\nPHILADELPHIA \u2014 By the eighth inning, when the conditions had deteriorated at Citizens Bank Park, Brandon Marsh twisted and turned to track a line drive slicing through the smoke.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was pretty tough to see for a little bit,\u201d Marsh said.<\/p>\n
This is how Major League Baseball\u2019s second half began: The first game between the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies was hastily pushed up an hour to 6:10 p.m. ET because of concerns about the air quality. As the teams played a nondescript game, a 4-1 Mets win, the four-man umpire crew made routine checks with players to make sure everyone was still fine with doing this.<\/p>\n
\u201cToward the end of it, it was a little thick. It felt like I was breathing some metal in there,\u201d Mets starter Christian Scott, who tossed 5 2\/3 scoreless innings, said. \u201cA spoonful of adversity never hurt anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carson Benge compared the feel over the final few innings to sitting close to a campfire.<\/p>\n
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\n Thursday\u2019s game between the Mets and Phillies was pushed up an hour. (Chris Szagola \/ Associated Press)<\/p>\n
This was the only game on the MLB schedule for Thursday night, each team coming back a day earlier from the All-Star break than the rest of the league.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s definitely different,\u201d Bryce Harper said during the second inning of ESPN\u2019s broadcast. \u201cThey don\u2019t really move games too much. Not the greatest idea, I guess, to come out here and play in this type of weather. But we\u2019re doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The smoke in Philadelphia had filtered down from wildfires in northern Ontario<\/a>; cities across the United States issued air-quality warnings to residents, directing them to stay indoors as much as possible.<\/p>\n Phillies players, already perturbed that their break had been cut a day short because ESPN selected this game during the offseason for its exclusive window, found out a little before 4 p.m. it was being moved.<\/p>\n \u201cEverybody just has to speed up their routine a little bit,\u201d Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly said.<\/p>\n Mattingly said there was discussion earlier in the day about the status of the game, but forecasters were confident the air quality would improve as the day went. League officials said changes to that forecast, specifically a decline in air quality once the sun set, influenced the decision to move the game.<\/p>\n What tool would the All-Star Game players take from each other?<\/p>\n Jayne Orenstein, Rebecca Tauber and more<\/p>\n The Phillies limited their outdoor pregame work.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not hitting,\u201d Mattingly said. \u201cWe are spending as little time as possible on the field. Just doing what you absolutely feel like you have to do after being gone for three days. Not trying to absorb a bunch of energy where you\u2019re getting heated.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe limited our outside exposure,\u201d Mets interim manager Andy Green said. \u201cThis is typically a day that you might have an elongated workout because guys are coming off a break, so it\u2019s an adjustment. \u2026 We got the work done that needs to get done, just in a condensed format.\u201d<\/p>\n \n The game in Philadelphia, a 4-1 Mets win, was the only one on the MLB schedule Thursday. (Terence Lewis \/ Icon Sportswire via AP Images)<\/p>\n The air-quality issues in the Northeast have caused worry about the conditions<\/a> for Sunday\u2019s World Cup final in East Rutherford, N.J. Rain is expected in the area Saturday. That could help clear the smoke, though it is difficult to predict how effective it will be.<\/p>\n The air quality at Citi Field was so bad Wednesday night that an NWSL game between Gotham FC and the Washington Spirit featured frequent hydration breaks to provide players some relief.<\/p>\n![\"Fans](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/AP26198060405837-scaled.jpg\")
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