Echoes of L.A.: Baltimore Orioles call off games because of civil unrest

More than two decades after the Dodgers could not play four home games because of civil unrest in Los Angeles, the Baltimore Orioles have rescheduled an entire homestand after rioting hit their city.

The Orioles will play a home game Wednesday, but without a crowd. With a nighttime curfew in effect, the Orioles and Major League Baseball moved Wednesday’s game against the Chicago White Sox from 7 p.m. to 2 p.m. After consulting with officials in Baltimore, the league agreed to play the game “without fan admittance in order to minimize safety concerns,” MLB said in a statement.

The Orioles’ next three home games -- Friday, Saturday and Sunday against the Tampa Bay Rays -- have been moved to the Rays’ stadium in St. Petersburg, Fla. The Orioles will be the home team in those games.

The Orioles already had postponed games against the White Sox on Monday and Tuesday; those games will be made up in a doubleheader May 28.

In 1992, as rioting erupted in Los Angeles following the Rodney King verdict, the Dodgers could not play for four consecutive days. One home game against the Philadelphia Phillies and three against the Montreal Expos were affected.

The Dodgers considered moving the Expos series to San Diego or Albuquerque before deciding to play the games at Dodger Stadium at a later date. The Dodgers made up all the games with doubleheaders -- four in six days, including three consecutive doubleheader days against the Expos.

Twitter: @BillShaikin