Nationals postpone game with Diamondbacks due to poor air quality

The Washington Nationals have postponed their Thursday afternoon game against the Arizona Diamondbacks due to poor air quality affecting the eastern U.S. 

In a tweet, the team said its game against the Diamondbacks will be made up June 22, noting tickets and parking passes for the game will be honored. 

This is the third MLB game in the past two days to be postponed, after the Chicago White Sox at New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers at Philadelphia Phillies games were postponed Wednesday due to the smoke from Canadian wildfires that has descended on much of the Eastern Seaboard.

Women’s professional sporting leagues WNBA and NWSL also postponed games Wednesday due to the poor air quality in the New York Metropolitan area. 

The wildfires raging in Canada have caused smoky, hazy conditions in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic parts of the U.S. A number of locations in those areas have air quality categorized as either “unhealthy,” “very unhealthy,” or “hazardous.” 

The conditions also led to many school districts cancelling outdoor and local authorities advising vulnerable residents to stay indoors. 

The hazardous conditions from the Canadian wildfires also caused the New York Racing Association (NYRA) to cancel a live horse racing event at Belmont Park, just two days before the final leg of the Triple Crown with the Belmont Stakes.