World Series 2016 Game 2: Start Time Changed For Chicago Cubs vs. Cleveland Indians Because Of Rain

Every game of the 2016 World Series had been scheduled to start at the same time until Mother Nature forced MLB officials to make a change. The first pitch of Game 2 between the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians has been moved up on Wednesday because of the weather forecast.

An increased likelihood of rain at night will force Game 2 to start at 7 p.m. EDT, instead of the original start time of 8 p.m. EDT, at Progressive Field. The chance of rain in Cleveland is no more than 25 percent between 5 p.m. EDT and 8 p.m. EDT, but that goes all the way up to 60 percent at 10 p.m. EDT.

MLB hopes Game 2 doesn’t last as long as Game 1, which took three hours and 37 minutes to complete on Tuesday. The Indians took the series opener at home by defeating Chicago 6-0.

Trevor Bauer gets the call for Cleveland against Chicago’s Jake Arrieta. Bauer didn’t make it through the first inning of his last start, but it wasn’t because of the weather or a poor pitching performance. He was forced to leave Game 3 of the ALCS against the Toronto Blue Jays when the stitches on his injured pinky broke open.

Arrieta hasn’t been the dominant pitcher he was in last year’s Cy Young season. He has a 4.91 ERA in two 2016 playoff starts, and he posted a 4.60 ERA in September.

Chicago’s lineup had been hot before Game 1, but the team has gone through short slumps this postseason. The Cubs were shut out in both Game 2 and Game 3 of the NLCS before totaling 23 runs over the next three games.

A World Series contest hasn’t been postponed since Game 6 in 2011. Only one World Series game in history has been suspended after it already began because of rain.

With the Philadelphia Phillies just one victory away from clinching the 2008 championship against the Tampa Bay Rays, Game 5 was suspended in the sixth inning of a tie game. The contest was completed two days later as the Phillies closed out the series in the game’s final three innings.