Dodgers will not be deterred by smoke, proceeding with game against Baltimore

The show must go on — even if the air quality isn’t ideal.

The LA Dodgers’ game against the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday afternoon at Dodger Stadium was scheduled to proceed, Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts said, even though some might find the conditions uncomfortable as thick smoke from a massive warehouse fire continued to blanket large parts of the city.

“From what I’ve heard is, we’re going to move forward, we’re not in any jeopardy,” Roberts said about two hours before game time, “so the league as of now feels like we’re going to just play.”

Conditions appeared to be improving as the day progressed, with air quality readings deemed acceptable, after the stadium took on a gloomy feel earlier in the day.

More than four hours before the scheduled first pitch, smoke from the nearby Boyle Heights warehouse fire had enshrouded the stadium in an acrid, nasty haze.

“It’s a little dark out there, a little Gotham City as I was driving up,” Roberts said, “but I’m hopeful that we’re getting this in.”

Stadium workers and media who did not come prepared scrambled to find masks, though the grounds crew prepping the field around 9:30 a.m. went unprotected.

The smoke was so thick that the hillside trees beyond the outfield and adjacent parking lots were barely visible. Breathing without a mask was uncomfortable.

A state of emergency had been declared in the region a day earlier as firefighters battled the blaze that had started Wednesday inside a massive commercial building that housed millions of pounds of frozen food.

Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts said he didn’t notice any issues upon arriving at the stadium.

“I didn’t know there was a fire until 10 seconds ago,” Betts said after reaching his locker inside the clubhouse. “I know nothing about that [Boyle Heights fire]. I didn’t even notice it, to be honest. I just smelled something but I was walking and I wasn’t paying any attention. We’ll see how it goes.”

Rescheduling the game might have been difficult given the Dodgers are heading to Minnesota after the game and the Orioles aren’t scheduled to return to Southern California after a three-game series against the Angels that starts Monday.

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