Team Weather Playbook

Toronto Blue Jays Weather Playbook: Rogers Centre Roof, Lake Ontario Setting

By Kevin Roth, sports meteorologist. How weather affects the Toronto Blue Jays at home and on the road.

Home advantage

Rogers Centre is retractable-roofed. The Jays close the roof for most cold-weather games in April, May, September, and October, and for rain. Open-roof games in the warm summer months see wind off Lake Ontario and downtown Toronto channeling that can affect carry. Closed conditions produce neutral 72-degree indoor baseball with no wind.

Division road environments

The AL East gives the Jays the Trop dome, Camden Yards, Fenway, and Yankee Stadium. Camden's summer heat and humidity are the biggest environmental swing from Rogers Centre. Sea-breeze reversal at Fenway and Yankee Stadium wind patterns require different lineup handicapping.

For DFS and bettors

Roof status at Rogers Centre is the largest single day-of-game weather variable in the AL East. The Jays announce roof status the morning of first pitch. Open roof plus south wind is the friendliest hitting environment; closed is neutral.