Cubs-Red Sox series compressed into split doubleheader Friday due to nor'easter

Major League Baseball rescheduled the Cubs-Red Sox series at Fenway Park due to a forecasted nor'easter expected to bring heavy rain, high winds, and potential flooding to the region over the weekend. Sunday's originally scheduled contest will now be played on Friday, September 27 at 1:05 p.m. ET (12:05 p.m. CT) as the first game of a split doubleheader, per MLB.com. Friday's originally scheduled game will move to 6:05 p.m. ET. Saturday's game is currently set for 7:15 p.m. ET (6:15 CT). The Red Sox made the change in consultation with Major League Baseball and the Cubs. The scheduling shift creates a rotation challenge for both playoff contenders. Cubs manager Craig Counsell expressed concern that moving a game up impacts his ability to have a rotation member available on regular rest for Saturday. Matthew Boyd will pitch for Chicago on Thursday's getaway day against the Marlins. It appears Counsell will likely go with Clay Holmes and David Peterson for Friday's doubleheader, per MLB.com. Shota Imanaga would be on short rest if he were part of the pitching plans for Saturday. Boyd and Holmes look aligned for Games 1 and 2, respectively, in a Wild Card Series. The Cubs entered Wednesday with an 87-70 record tied with the Padres and Phillies in the National League Wild Card standings. The Cubs can clinch a postseason berth as early as Wednesday night with a win over the Marlins at Wrigley Field or a loss by the Arizona Diamondbacks at Colorado. The Red Sox hold the American League's second Wild Card spot, trailing the Yankees by six games but holding a three-game lead over the third spot, currently held by the White Sox. The Rangers are three games back of the White Sox and six behind Boston. Red Sox manager Chad Tracy acknowledged that a neutral-site game may be in play for the third game of the series if Boston weather does not improve. "That's being talked about, for sure. Nothing's been said like, 'That's what's going to happen,'" Tracy said, per MLB.com. Tracy also noted the uncertainty: "It's a matter of, does it look like there's going to be a nice lane to play a game at some point? I don't think we'll know the answer to that for another couple days." Counsell said Friday: "I think there's still a lot of things on the table, for sure. What I know is happening is we're going to play three games. If weather is an issue, then yeah, we might have to find a place to play a third game. We might have to figure out a place to play more than one game." If the Cubs and Red Sox cannot complete all games, any missed contests would be made up on Monday (the day before the Wild Card Series begins) if the outcome mattered for postseason seeding. Tracy expressed hope that scenario would be avoided: "Yeah, I think everybody would want [to avoid] that. I would hope that things will fall in a range around whatever it is that we do, that the [Monday] is off leading into the postseason, that would be ideal." In 2017, a September series between the Rays and Yankees was preemptively moved to Citi Field as a precaution ahead of Hurricane Irma.