The Atlanta Braves and New York Mets will not be completing one of MLB's most important regular-season series this week. Hurricane Helene is bearing down on the Atlanta area and heavy rain and wind is in the forecast on Wednesday and Thursday, when the two games between the playoff hopefuls were originally scheduled to be played. Instead, MLB announced Wednesday afternoon that the games would be postponed and made up as a doubleheader on Monday.
Playing a doubleheader on Monday -- on the eve of the start of the 2024 MLB postseason -- is not ideal. The games will only be played if there are postseason implications, but that seems likely as things stand. The Mets entered Wednesday at 87-70 and in possession of the National League's No. 5 seed. The Braves are currently out of the playoff picture, but Atlanta (86-71) is just a half-game behind Arizona for the final NL wild-card spot.
The Mets are set to play a three-game series against the Brewers in Milwaukee this weekend, while the Braves will host the Royals. New York would then have to fly back to Atlanta for the Monday doubleheader.
It's a whirlwind schedule for a team trying to clinch a playoff spot. So how did we get here? Partly through (in)decisions from MLB and the Braves.
The league could have moved Thursday's game up to this past Monday (Sept. 23), which was an off-day for both teams. Wednesday's and Thursday's game could have been moved up to Monday as part of a doubleheader, but it's too late for that now.
According to the New York Post, the Braves balked at moving any games this series because they were expecting large crowds at Truist Park. Here are the details:
Spokespeople for MLB, the Braves and the Mets all offered no comment on how this point was reached and what is next.
But background conversations with involved personnel indicated that basically the Braves were expecting large attendance for the three games (it was 40,103 at Truist Park for Tuesday's series opener, won, 5-1, by Atlanta) and did not want to forego the gates nor work through the logistics of moving personnel such as security, concessionaires, etc. to other dates or start times.
MLB can overrule all weather-related decisions and the league declined to do so here. Ultimately, the blame for any weather issues during these important games Wednesday and Thursday falls on MLB. The league has the final say.
Also, the weather could impact more than the Braves vs. Mets games this week. The Mets have to travel to Milwaukee for a series with the Brewers this weekend. The storm could affect their travel out of Atlanta. The Braves don't have to travel after the Mets series, they'll host the Kansas City Royals this weekend, though the Royals have to get to Atlanta, which could pose similar problems.
