Last Updated on July 20, 2011 6:35 pm by admin
TORONTO (AP) – The Blue Jays will try and beat the heat by keeping the roof closed for their game Thursday afternoon against the Seattle Mariners.
Toronto announced Wednesday night that the retractable roof at Rogers Centre would remain closed Thursday, when temperatures are forecast to reach 100 degrees, threatening a 63-year-old record.
Factor in high humidity, and it could feel closer to 110 degrees when the Blue Jays and Mariners take to the artificial turf for Thursday’s 12:37 p.m. start.
A local grocery store chain is donating 20,000 bottles of water to keep fans cool during the game.
The Blue Jays and Mariners played under open skies on Tuesday and Wednesday night, but kept the roof closed until half an hour before the start, once the sun had dipped below stadium walls.
Heat forced Phillies right-hander Roy Halladay to leave Monday’s game at Wrigley Field against the Chicago Cubs. Halladay doubled over after allowing Starlin Castro’s leadoff single in the fifth inning, but is expected to make his next start.