How a Boston nor'easter could wreak havoc on the MLB wild-card races

In all likelihood, this weekend's Boston Red Sox vs. Chicago Cubs series at Fenway Park will not have much bearing on the various postseason races. The Red Sox have already clinched a postseason berth and are just jockeying for wild-card seeding. The Cubs will clinch a postseason berth with their next win or the next Arizona Diamondbacks loss, then it's just a matter of seeding.

But, if the Cubs in particular are unable to take care of business during the week, that final series in Boston will be important, and Mother Nature could throw a wrench into things. A looming nor'easter threatens to drench New England in the coming days. Here is the upcoming forecast for Boston, via CBS Boston:

If the Cubs and Red Sox have postseason berths locked up come the weekend, and seeding has more or less been sorted out, MLB could simply cancel Saturday's and/or Sunday's game, and not make them up. This happens every few years. Rather than squeeze in a makeup game that has no bearing on the postseason, the game simply is not played.

However, if the games matter, they would have to be made up, which could force the Cubs and Red Sox to play at Fenway Park on Monday. Maybe even a doubleheader. This would be a nightmare scenario for both teams. The Red Sox are locked in as a wild-card team and the Cubs will be as soon as they clinch. They would have to play their makeup game(s) on Monday, travel that night, then play Game 1 of the Wild Card Series the very next day.

This happened as recently as 2024. Hurricane Helene postponed two Atlanta Braves vs. New York Mets games at Truist Park, and since there were two wild-card spots on the line, the games had to be made up with a doubleheader in Atlanta on the Monday after the final day of the regular season. In the span of nine days, the Mets went from New York to Atlanta to Milwaukee then back to Atlanta for the doubleheader and then back to Milwaukee for the Wild Card Series.

The Red Sox could be locked in as the second wild-card team as soon as Tuesday. This weekend's series is much more likely to be relevant to the Cubs and the National League wild-card race, and even then, it's a bit of a long shot. There is a chance those games matter though, and if they do, MLB could have a messy situation on its hands given the forecast.