ALCS Game 4 postponed due to rain

The Detroit Tigers' party in Motown will have to wait at least one more day.

Game 4 of the ALCS at Comerica Park was postponed due to rain on Wednesday night, meaning the Tigers won't get their first chance to advance past the New York Yankees until Thursday afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for 4:07 ET with the pitching matchup — CC Sabathia vs. Max Scherzer — staying intact.

The Tigers lead the Yankees three games to none and are on the brink of their first World Series since 2oo6. The bad news is that Thursday's forecast doesn't look too good, either, with an 80 percent chance of rain.

While the rain didn't move into Detroit until about 9:15 local time on Wednesday night — approximately 75 minutes after the game was scheduled to start — Major League Baseball made the decision to hold off on starting the game. That led to the strange sight of fans sitting in the stands around a tarp-less field, but MLB said the decision was made to "protect the integrity of a nine-inning game." It'd be hard for either side to argue with that logic given that it meant neither Sabathia nor Scherzer were used up for just an inning or two before a rain delay. That same situation happened when Game 1 of the ALDS was suspended in the middle of the second inning last year and the league attracted plenty of criticism for letting Sabathia and Justin Verlander effectively waste a start.

The postponement, however, will push Game 5 to Friday, eliminating the travel day before Saturday's Game 6. Brian Cashman says Sabathia will not be able to pitch in an if-necessary Game 7 on Sunday and that's a bad break for the Yankees as it means Sabathia will pitch only once this series. But at least that one appearance will likely come under the terms of his performance and not under the terms of Mother Nature.

Make sure all your bases are covered this postseason ...
Follow @bigleaguestew, @KevinKaduk and the BLS Facebook page!