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The air quality in Toronto isn't ideal on Friday.
The Blue Jays are scheduled to host the Chicago White Sox, and it was fair to wonder how the AQI (Air Quality Index) would impact the chances of this game being played as wildfire smoke gets blown by the wind across the northern part of the United States and into Canada.
On Friday afternoon, the Blue Jays made an announcement.
Their post on X at 1:03 p.m. ET said:
"Please note that due to poor air quality, the roof will be closed for tonight's game."
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) July 17, 2026MORE: How Jordan Walker overcame the bust label
That was a relatively predictable outcome. There was certainly no way on Friday that the Blue Jays would be playing with the roof open.
The hope would be that the roof has been closed for a while and not let in any of the smoke-impacted air for a few days, but it's hard to know whether that is the case.
The announcement also pretty much affirms that the ballgame will be played as scheduled.
Whether the Rogers Centre gets its full allotment of fans remains to be seen.
The good news is that Toronto's AQI seems to have moved below 100 today, making it safe to travel. It seems the immediate concern would just be that the poor air from recent days lingered in certain places.
The Blue Jays want to get a second-half surge rolling. They won't have to wait longer than expected. They'll just have to deal with the AL Central-leading White Sox.
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