The Mets started their second half of the 2026 season Thursday against the Phillies in less-than-ideal conditions.
Baseball teams are used to rain, heat and even the occasional snow, but the wildfires in Canada have produced conditions in the northeast that are tough to play in. Large swaths of smoke have covered the New York City and Philadelphia areas, bringing with them poor air quality and increased heat. That’s why MLB pushed up Thursday’s series opener an hour to avoid the harsher conditions later in the evening.
And, as it turns out, it was the right move.
“I didn’t think it was bad until the last couple of innings. Eyes itching, burning a little bit,” Brett Baty said of the conditions after the game. “[Carson] Benge said it felt like you were sitting at a campfire, just close to a campfire, which was pretty good. It’s fun, but it didn’t feel great playing ball with it, though.”
“At the end of the game, it was a little bit more difficult, especially catching,” Francisco Alvarez said through an interpreter. “It became more difficult to see at the end.”
Despite the visibility issues, Baty and Alvarez hit three bombs combined in the Mets’ 4-1 win over the division rival Phillies.
But issues seeing the ball could be seen throughout the game. Fielders had trouble picking up flyballs, and even Mets interim manager Andy Green couldn’t see some of them from the dugout. But while Green didn’t believe the conditions affected play, he could tell it was teetering a bit at the end.
“It felt like it could have [affected the game] at any moment, especially as visibility got tougher,” Green said. “Guys managed to see baseballs that I couldn’t when they went up in the air as pop-ups. Good thing we have good athletes on the field that can see things. Don’t think it ultimately did, from my perspective.”
What the smoke did affect was how long Mets starter Christian Scott felt on the mound.
The young right-hander was breezing through five innings when Kyle Schwarber hit a two-out double — that nearly was a home run — that chased Scott. Scott finished his night throwing just 79 pitches through 5.2 innings.
“Not gonna lie, towards the end of it, it was a little thick. I felt like I was breathing some metal in there,” Scott said. “At the end of the day, a little spoonful of adversity never hurt anybody. Part of the game. It was fun playing out there, the stadium was packed, good atmosphere. Yea, it was fun.”
The Mets have an off day Friday before they’re back at it on Saturday afternoon. And while the smoke from the wildfires is hopefully out of the area by then, the weather forecast shows the Mets could be dealing with thunderstorms in the area.
Whatever the weather brings, the Mets will face it head-on.
“In the last week, we’ve had a game pushed back and a game pushed up, that’s fairly unique,” Green said. “You just have to roll with it.”
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