ALCS: Yankees' Tanaka to start vs. Astros' Greinke in postponed Game 4

Oct. 16 (UPI) -- Game 4 of the American League Championship Series between the New York Yankees and Houston Astros was postponed due to a significant weather system moving into New York on Wednesday night.

First pitch for the fourth game of the best-of-seven series is now scheduled for 8:08 p.m. EDT on Thursday. Game 5 of the ALCS was rescheduled for 7:08 p.m. EDT on Friday, which was originally labeled as a travel day, if necessary.

"We are mindful of two things: We don't want to affect the competitive complexion of the series, and we want to be mindful of our fans who have to get out," MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement prior to Game 3. "We don't want to bring them here if we know we are not going to be able to play."

With the extra day of preparation, the Yankees, who were expected to deploy their bullpen for Game 4, announced the team will send Masahiro Tanaka to the mound on regular rest. He locked up the Astros over six innings in Saturday's Game 1, throwing only 68 pitches during the Yankees' 7-0 victory.

The Astros announced they will counter with Zack Greinke, who is also on regular rest. The 2009 Cy Young Award winner has struggled through two postseason starts for the Astros this year, including the club's Game 1 loss in which he allowed three runs in six innings.

"It was our plan if this happened," Astros manager A.J. Hinch told reporters. "It's Zack's normal day. He was going to pitch on Thursday no matter what game number it was, [then Justin Verlander] in Game 5. The sooner we can use our best pitchers, the better for us. It was an easy decision."

In Game 5, the Yankees are expected to start James Paxton against the Astros' Justin Verlander. Houston holds a 2-1 lead in the series, with the winner moving on to play the Washington Nationals in the World Series.