Rain puts a damper on Game 4

ST. LOUIS -- After a two-hour delay, Game 4 of the 102d World Series between the Tigers and Cardinals was postponed because of rain last night, the first time in 10 years a Series game has been postponed.

Game 4 is now scheduled for tonight, with Game 5 pushed back until tomorrow night. But ominously, rain is forecast for the next two days, and more weather problems are forecast for Detroit on Saturday, when Game 6 is scheduled.

Last night's postponement was the third of this postseason. There were rainouts in both New York and St. Louis during the National League Championship Series.

The last postponement of a World Series game was Oct. 19, 1996, when Game 1 between the Braves and Yankees was rained out in New York.

This is the first time a Series game has been rained out in St. Louis.

"It became pretty apparent that the front wasn't moving through," said Jimmie Lee Solomon, the executive vice president for baseball operations. "Actually, it stalled."

Solomon acknowledged the forecasts were not promising.

"They're going to be dicey," he said. "Tomorrow we've been told there's a 70 percent chance of rain. It's supposed to be light rain, but we don't know if it will linger.

"Unfortunately, Friday's forecast is pretty bad, too. We could get a soaking of 2 to 3 inches of rain."

The official delay was 1 hour 51 minutes.