Weekend off-days are a rare occurrence in MLB three-game series, as scheduled rest days typically fall on Mondays or Thursdays, allowing matchups to run uninterrupted through the weekend in most cases.
However, an unusual scheduling situation has appeared in the series between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Kansas City Royals.
Sat. Louis vs Kansas City gets a break
After playing the opening game on Friday, both teams will take a break on Saturday before returning to action for the second game of the series on Sunday night, creating a rare weekend gap in the schedule.
Reason behind weekend interruption
The reported reason behind the unusual weekend off-day in the series is Kansas City’s role as a host city for FIFA World Cup matches this year.
On Saturday, Ecuador and Curacao are scheduled to play at Arrowhead Stadium, the usual home venue of the Kansas City Chiefs.
FIFA is temporarily using the stadium to host World Cup matches this summer, and the timing of this Group E fixture clashes with the St. Louis Cardinals vs Kansas City Royals series.
Shared parking lot is the main cause
Since Arrowhead Stadium and Kauffman Stadium sit next to each other and share the same parking area, hosting both events at the same time would create major logistical challenges, making it difficult for games to run concurrently or even on the same day.
Even if FIFA and MLB were to stagger start times on Saturday, the shared parking infrastructure would still create significant congestion and logistical complications.
Nevertheless, the series will resume on Sunday, with the second game scheduled for 2:10pm ET in the afternoon. The St. Louis Cardinals will aim to level the series after a narrow 6-5 defeat in Friday’s opening game.
Not the first time for Cardinals
This marks the second consecutive year the St. Louis Cardinals have been caught up in unusual weekend scheduling conflicts.
In the previous season, the Cardinals played at George M. Steinbrenner Field near Tampa Bay, where the Tampa Bay Rays were temporarily relocated after Hurricane Milton damaged their home stadium.
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At the same time, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had a preseason game scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. kickoff on August 23, creating a rare overlap of events and a complicated logistical situation for both the Rays and Cardinals.
