Despite days of wintry weather, including several inches of snow on Thursday, the Minnesota Twins said they are doing all they can to avoid calling off Friday's game at Target Field and no decision will be made until game day.

"As always, we will make every effort to play the game as scheduled and we currently plan to play on Friday night," said Chris Iles, a team spokesman. "Since this is the only visit by the Mets this year, it is important that we play the game if at all possible, especially considering that the weekend forecast is also questionable."

Crews were shoveling snow in the stands Thursday to the stair aisles, where its being melted with hot water, Iles said.

If the snow becomes too heavy in the seating areas to melt, chutes will be used to dump the snow onto a warning track, he added. From there, it will be hauled out of the stadium.

The field heat is on "and will hopefully melt snow on the playing field," Iles said.

Other than snow, there is little chance that the temperature will be much above freezing for Friday's nighttime first pitch in the three-game series, according to the latest National Weather Service forecast.

Dml - Star Tribune, Star Tribune
Kashaun Gage removed snow from Target Field on Thursday.

Friday's giveaway at Target Field is a poster schedule for the first 20,000 fans. Of course, there's a chance not that many will brave the challenging climate and show up to the 39,504-capacity stadium.

There have been no snow-related cancellations at Target Field since the roof-less stadium opened in 2010.

Since the franchise was moved from Washington, D.C., to the Twin Cities in 1961, playing outside at Metropolitan Stadium through the 1981 season, the Twins lost only four games to snow. The latest on the schedule to fall victim was on May 2, 1976. It was made up the next day as part of a doubleheader.

Moving indoors to the Metrodome starting in 1982 didn't make the team immune from winter's whims. The roof came down late on the night of April 14, 1983, after one of the Twin Cities' biggest spring snowstorms. The storm had already resulted in cancellation of the Twins game because their opponents, the California Angels, because their opponents were grounded by the storm.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482