The Atlanta Braves and New York Mets began what might be the most important series of the 2024 MLB regular season Tuesday night, with Atlanta taking the first game of the three-game set (ATL 5, NY 1). The series will not continue Wednesday and Thursday as scheduled, however. Those games have been postponed because of the approaching Hurricane Helene, MLB announced Wednesday afternoon. MLB plans to make up both games as part a straight doubleheader Monday, the day before the 2024 postseason begins. The first game will begin at 1:10 p.m. ET, and the second game will begin 40 minutes after the first ends.
Monday is the off-day between the end of the regular season and the Wild Card Series, and the plan is to play the games only if they are needed to determine the postseason race, according to the New York Post. The Mets enter play Wednesday a half-game up on a wild-card spot and the Braves are a half-game behind the Arizona Diamondbacks for the No. 6 seed. Chances are at least one of Monday's games will be necessary given the tight wild-card race.
As Helene continues to strengthen, the Braves were reportedly more determined to protect their ticket sales for the well-drawing series, and did not want to work through the logistics of moving the games. While the league could have overruled the home team, officials reportedly opted not to. That was a massive unforced error on MLB's part. Now the Braves and Mets are facing a potential scheduling nightmare ahead of the postseason.
The Mets, for example, may have to travel from Atlanta (this week's series) to Milwaukee (for this weekend's series) to Atlanta (for Monday's doubleheader) to the West Coast (for the Wild Card Series) in the span of six days. Also, a doubleheader Monday could wreck both pitching staffs, and one of these two teams is assured a postseason berth. They'll have to go into the Wild Card Series with a taxed bullpen, potentially. This was all avoidable had MLB overruled the Braves and rescheduled the games sooner.
Helene could bring 6-12 inches of rain with isolated pockets up to 18 inches across the southeast, as well as "catastrophic and potentially life-threatening flash and urban flooding," according to the National Hurricane Center. Heavy rain is in the Atlanta forecast for both Wednesday and Thursday as the storm approaches the Florida Gulf Coast. Here's a look at the hourly forecast for Wednesday night and Thursday evening, per First Alert Weather.
The storm, which was officially upgraded to a hurricane Wednesday by the NHC, is expected to make landfall in Florida on Thursday as a Category 4 hurricane with winds over 110 mph.
"Damaging and life-threatening hurricane-force winds, especially in gusts, will penetrate well inland over portions of northern Florida and southern Georgia late Thursday and Thursday night where hurricane warnings are in effect," the National Hurricane Center said in a 5 p.m. update on Wednesday.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has already declared a state of emergency. Here's the latest from CBS News, and below is the projected path of the storm.
MLB is in a scheduling crunch as the regular season wraps up Sunday and the 12-team postseason gets started Tuesday, Oct. 1. The Mets are set to close out the regular season in Milwaukee with a three-game set against the Brewers, while the Braves will host the Royals from Friday through Sunday (weather permitting).
Current NL wild-card standings
(As of Sept. 25)
| Team | Record | GB |
|---|---|---|
4. Padres | 91-66 | +4.5 |
5. Mets | 87-70 | +0.5 |
6. Diamondbacks | 87-71 | -- |
| 7. Braves | 86-71 | 0.5 |
