Series back on; Game 6 Thursday

PHILADELPHIA - With a forecast for bitter cold but only a very small chance of rain, baseball's powers are planning to resume Game 5 of the World Series here tonight, and appear confident that another unforeseen change for the worse in the weather will not interrupt play again. The Phillies and Rays are scheduled to pick up with the Phillies about to bat in the bottom of the sixth inning and the score tied at 2. The Phillies lead the Series 3-games-to-1 and have a chance to close out their second World Series championship and first since 1980.

Major League Baseball is also planning is to forego an off day and play Game 6 Thursday night in Tampa.

MLB officials are citing forecasts that call for a zero to 20 percent chance of precipitation here tonight. Weather.com is currently calling for a 20 percent chance of rain. Temperatures are expected to fall into the 30s tonight, but MLB officials say the cold will not cancel tonight's plans to play, either.

Baseball commissioner Bud Selig lamented overly optimistic reports Monday night that suggested there'd be no more than one-tenth of an inch of rain and led to the game being played before it finally had to be interrupted with a downpour right after the Rays tied the score in the top of the sixth inning.

Selig has said after play was halted that he wouldn't have allowed the World Series to end with the first rain-shortened game in Series history. He earlier in the day informed the teams of his plan not to let the rain determine the winner but has expressed regret about not informing fans earlier so they wouldn't have been under the misperception the Phillies could win the Series with a rain-shortened victory.

Some Rays players also appeared to have the impression they could lose a rain-shortened game but that may have been because word wasn't passed along to them via manager, Joe Maddon, who might not have wanted to lessen his Rays' urgency to score by letting them know their Series wouldn't end under those conditions.