Amid Surreal Scenes, Yankees & Phillies Games Are Canceled

With Yankee Stadium bathed in a surreal sepia-like haze due to Canadian wildfires, MLB has canceled tonight's New York Yankees/Chicago White Sox game.

With a campfire smell and black clouds of smoke blacking out the sky, the air has been deemed by climate experts as too unhealthy for players—or fans—to be out in.

Scene from Yankee Stadium amidst Canada wildfire smoke 😳 pic.twitter.com/EvbWIQeiz7
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 7, 2023

The Yankees and ChiSox did play Tuesday night, and the air quality reached "unhealthy" levels throughout the game. A good air quality index is between 0-50, and moderate is between 51-100, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. But by the fifth inning Tuesday night, it had reached 180, and by 11:30 p.m. ET, it was at 227, which the EPA calls “very unhealthy.”

Yes, this is #smoke from Canadian wildfires - #Yankees #bronx pic.twitter.com/JKa2G3kbbj
— Andres P (@borgesCL) June 6, 2023

The Yankees intend to make up the game as part of a double-header on Thursdays.

Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia didn't have quite the same menacing look as Yankee Stadium, but smoke was thick in the air, the Phillies game with the Detroit Tigers has also been canceled.

Could see semblance of Philadelphia skyline from Citizens Bank Park last night. Can’t see it this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/7kDdfg4gIP
— Jason Beck (@beckjason) June 7, 2023

The New York Mets' Double-A affiliate (Binghamton, NY) and Triple-A (Syracuse) have also had their games postponed.

The smoke from more than 200 wildfires burning in Canada, most of them in and around the province of Quebec, has blanketed the eastern and northern United States as well as parts of Canada.