As of Wednesday afternoon, the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets remain in a holding pattern for the second and third games of their important three-game series at Truist Park. Hurricane Helene is bearing down on the area and heavy rain and wind is expected Wednesday and Thursday, when the two games are scheduled to be played.
MLB has not yet announced any changes to the schedule, such as moving Thursday night's game up to the afternoon, or even relocating the games to a neutral site, which MLB has done in similar situations in the past. The league could have moved Thursday's game up to Monday, 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.
If Wednesday's and Thursday's games cannot be played due to rain, the Braves and Mets may have to play a doubleheader next Monday, on the off-day between the end of the regular season and the start of the Wild Card Series. Those games would likely have postseason implications, whether seeding or a playoff spot in general, and would have to be played. If they are meaningless, they could be canceled, though that's unlikely.
That could present a travel nightmare, especially since it's possible one or both teams could have to travel to the west coast for the Wild Card Series. The Mets, for example, may have to travel from Atlanta (this week's series) to Milwaukee (for their final regular-season series this weekend) to Atlanta (for a makeup game) to the west coast (for the Wild Card Series) in the span of a week.
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.
The Braves enter play Wednesday a half-game behind the Arizona Diamondbacks for the third wild-card slot. The Mets are a half-game up on Arizona and one game up on Atlanta. Needless to say, Wednesday's and Thursday's games are of paramount importance in the wild-card race.
