Yanks lose off day due to Saturday postponements

Major League Baseball and the Orioles would not heed the Yankees’ earlier request that the teams play two games Friday night at Camden Yards to avoid a washout of Saturday’s split-admission doubleheader due to Hurricane Irene reaching Baltimore, so what happened? After consulting with MLB and the National Weather Service during Friday night’s game, the Orioles announced the postponement of Saturday games.

Saturday’s 1:05 p.m. game will be made up Sept. 8 at a time to be determined as the Yankees will lose another open date on the schedule, something they had hoped to avoid by playing two games Friday. Saturday’s 7:05 p.m. game will be made up at 7:35 p.m. Sunday as part of a dual-admission doubleheader with the regularly scheduled afternoon game to start at 1:35.

Tickets dated Aug. 27 at 7:05 p.m. will only be accepted at the 7:35 p.m. game Aug. 28. No exchange is necessary. Fans should bring their original tickets to the ballpark gates for admission. Saturday’s 1:05 p.m. game was a makeup for a game rained out April 22. Tickets dated Aug. 27 at 1:05 p.m. or April 22 will be accepted only for the game Sept. 8. Again, no exchange is necessary, and fans should bring their original tickets to the ballpark gates for admission.

Fans unable to attend any of the games this weekend may exchange their tickets for any remaining game during the 2011 season, subject to availability. Ticket exchanges must be completed by Sept. 28. Parking passes will be honored for the makeup games only and are non-transferable.

Fans who purchased tickets through StubHub should visit http://www.StubHub.com, call 866-788-2482 or e-mail customerservice@stubhub.com for complete information about StubHub’s rainout policy.

The Orioles’ offices and Official Team Store at the Warehouse will be closed tomorrow. Due to the impeding weather, road closures and public transportation closures in New York, the Yankee Stadium Ticket Office will be closed Saturday and Sunday.

It was clear that the Orioles did not want to lose a gate against the Yankees by not agreeing to play a doubleheader Friday. They could have still completed the series even if Saturday’s two games were lost to the storm by arranging for split-admission games Sunday or Monday.

The Yankees’ disappointment was expressed in a statement released in the name of center fielder Curtis Granderson, the club’s player representative:

“Given the advance notice and the fact that other teams have adjusted their schedules ahead of time, we are perplexed at the current options we are being presented with in regards to making up any games postponed due to Hurricane Irene. The proposition to take away our only full off day in the final month of the season is not an option, even though the Orioles’ front office and the commissioner’s office think this is an adequate solution. It’s a shame that the decision has now come down to possibly having to play four games in two days or having to come back to Baltimore for another makeup game.”