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Another Orioles home game is being threatened by bad weather.
It has been raining throughout the day and the forecast is calling for showers throughout the window for tonight's series opener against the Oakland Athletics at Camden Yards.
Delays have become a common occurrence during the Orioles' first five weeks of the season as it has been almost exclusively cold, dreary and damp in Baltimore throughout April.
"Trying to predict weather? What's the saying?" Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "If you want to make God laugh tell him about your plans. Nobody really knows. What is it, April showers bring May flowers? I'm waiting for the flowers."
Rain delays have totaled 3 hours, 12 minutes this season, so the Orioles typically make every attempt to get weather-threatened games in. Only one home game has been postponed so far this year, so it could make for a long Friday night.
However, a forecast that currently doesn't show much of a clear window to play could lead to a pregame cancellation.
"They've already got it up on the board of all the like dates, all the off days, what this would mean, what that would mean, where the travel would come," Showalter said. "… There's about seven scenarios they do before every series where they go through all the possibilities and what have you."
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The Athletics are making their only trip to Baltimore this week, so if Friday's game is postponed, the easiest scenario would be to make the game up as part of a doubleheader Saturday, but the weather isn't promising that day either. The teams share three days off -- July 28, Aug. 1 and Sept. 8. But July 28 is the only day of those three when the A's are not on the West Coast.
Showalter said his club has to remain prepared to play.
"I don't like guys talking to our players about rain and scenarios and all that," Showalter said. "They look at radar, but we have to approach the rest of the afternoon to get ready at 7 o'clock to play Oakland. If something else comes up, the powers that be, they have it wired. They do a good job of it."
A delay on Friday would mark the fourth time in 17 scheduled home dates that weather has impacted the Orioles' games.
Opening Day featured two rain delays totaling 2 hours, 51 minutes, while later that week, a 21-minute rain delay interrupted the Orioles' eventual 4-2 win over the Minnesota Twins. The April 9 game against the Tampa Bay Rays was postponed because of wintry conditions
The Orioles' April 16 road game at the Texas Rangers was also postponed by rain, forcing the Orioles to travel back to Texas on June 20 in the middle of a homestand in order to play a makeup game. They will likely play a doubleheader to make up the Rays postponement later that week.