The Cubs could advance to the NLCS Tuesday, unless rain or the Nationals stop them

The Nationals have had two wonderful NLDS starts with lengthy no-hitter bids in them, and the Cubs have won both of those games. Chicago is up 2-1 in the series and can clinch its third trip in a row to the NLCS with a victory on Tuesday afternoon. The Nats still stand in the way, but the weather might, too.

Originally, Game 4 of the NLDS was going to be at 5:38 p.m. ET or on in primetime depending on whether the Dodgers-Diamondbacks NLDS continued past Game 3. With rain expected later in the evening, however, it was announced that the Cubs and Nats will play at that late-afternoon time instead in an attempt to avoid a lengthy delay or outright rainout.

There is a potential hiccup, though: Rain is now expected to start in Chicago around noon and basically projects to keep going until Wednesday morning and maybe into the afternoon.

The forecast could be incorrect, of course: Monday’s projected a storm that would delay the Red Sox and Astros for hours, but the worst of it ended up missing Fenway and the game was played without any delay.

There’s still a chance that the Cubs and Nats don’t play at all on Tuesday, though, unless they try to sneak the game in before lunch. Maybe the rain won’t be heavy enough to delay or postpone the game, like with the ALDS game in Boston on Monday. Maybe the storm will miss Wrigley completely or show up after a couple of hours of game and force a lengthy delay that ruins the night for everyone at the stadium and at home. There are all kinds of options here!

If they do end up playing, it’s going to be Tanner Roark trying to keep Washington’s season alive against Jake Arrieta. These days, Roark doesn’t seem like the kind of pitcher who is a threat to throw a no-hitter, so maybe the Nats have a shot at extending this series.