A nor'easter pounded much of the East Coast yesterday, wiping out six baseball games and postponing the 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's major-league debut in five cities.

The storm also forced the final round of the Heritage golf tournament in Hilton Head Island, S.C., to be suspended until today. Aqueduct canceled its race card because of the strong wind and heavy rain.

In Major League Baseball, five games were postponed. It was the most postponements in one day in the majors since April 12, 1997, when eight games were postponed, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Postponed games included Washington at the New York Mets, the Astros at the Phillies, the Angels at the Boston Red Sox, the Royals at Baltimore and the Pirates' doubleheader against the Giants. Every home team had some sort of celebration planned to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's first game with the Dodgers.

"It's kind of disappointing a little bit because we wanted to be on the field," Mets shortstop Jose Reyes said. "This is a special day for baseball and for Jackie Robinson and for Jackie Robinson's family because he did a lot for this game."

Heavy rain and high wind grounded hundreds of flights in the New York area and caused flooding in low-lying areas.

PGA Tour tournament director Slugger White said the course at Hilton Head was hit by gusts as high as 44 mph after an overnight storm brought tornado warnings and thunderstorms to the region.

"It got dangerous out there for spectators," White said. "It was dangerous and unplayable."