Angels-Tigers game postponed; doubleheader on Thursday

DETROIT -- With severe storms in the forecast, Wednesday’s game between the Tigers and Angels at Comerica Park was postponed and rescheduled as part of a traditional doubleheader Thursday afternoon.

First pitch for Game 1 on Thursday is scheduled for 1:10 p.m. ET. Game 2 will start approximately 40 minutes after Game 1 ends.

The Angels announced that Shohei Ohtani, who had been scheduled to start Friday at Toronto on an extra day’s rest, will instead move back on regular rest and start Game 1 Thursday. The team decided that having Ohtani play both ends of a doubleheader as a hitter and then pitch the next day would be more taxing than pitching on regular rest. Patrick Sandoval, who had been scheduled to start Wednesday, will pitch Game 2.

Michael Lorenzen, who had been scheduled to start Wednesday in what could be his final appearance as a Tiger, will instead start Thursday's opener against his old team opposite his friend Ohtani. Matt Manning, Detroit's originally scheduled starter for Thursday, will start in Game 2.

Fans with tickets for Wednesday’s rainout can exchange them for available tickets of similar value for Thursday, or any other Tigers home game within the next 12 months other than the Tigers’ 2024 home opener next April. More information is available at tigers.com/rainout.

Wednesday marks the Tigers’ sixth postponement at home this year, and seventh overall. Thursday will mark the fifth doubleheader at Comerica Park this season. Ironically, Wednesday’s rainout interrupts a stretch of 17 consecutive game days for the Tigers, a stretch brought about by Monday’s makeup game against the Giants that was rescheduled from a mid-April postponement.

Wednesday’s weather forecast had been a concern for a couple days. There had been some buzz about potentially moving up Wednesday’s game to an afternoon start, but the uncertainty about when storms would arrive -- they eventually rolled in around mid-afternoon with heavy rain, high winds and risk of hail -- made that impractical. With a sold-out Beyoncé concert set for Wednesday evening next door at Ford Field, waiting until closer to game time to make a decision also ran the risk of creating traffic chaos around downtown. The game was officially postponed around 2 p.m.