Hurricane Helene’s intense rain on Wednesday forced the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves to postpone their pivotal series’ last two games.
This implies that the wild-card race, which was expected to run all the way to the final day of the regular season, may require an additional day.
Now, a doubleheader between the Mets and Braves on Monday that will start at precisely 40 minutes apart could be vital in determining postseason positions.
The NL Central champion Milwaukee Brewers will play three games against New York starting on Friday. In the meanwhile, the Braves will play an AL playoff contender, the Kansas City Royals, in a weekend series.
Carlos Mendoza, manager of the Mets, stated, “We have to move on to the next series now.” “We have to go out there and not only win a series but also take care of business because Milwaukee is another extremely talented team that we will be playing. Controlling the things under our control is the only action we can do.
In the wild-card race, the Mets (87-70) led Arizona by a half-game, while the Braves (86-71) trailed by a full game. The playoffs, which start with the best-of-three wild-card round on Tuesday, will see two of these teams advance.
As the hurricane’s remnants pass over Georgia, Braves manager Brian Snitker expressed his hope that the Royals will be able to make it. He also mentioned the poor weather outlook. “I would hope that nothing goes wrong for their series.”
After playing the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday night, the Diamondbacks will take Thursday off before concluding the regular season with a three-game series against the San Diego Padres.
In the first game of their series, the Braves defeated the Mets 5-1 on Tuesday night.
On Monday, both teams were off, but there was no sign that MLB or any team considered moving up the start of the series. Prior to the area being pounded by severe rain in the afternoon on Wednesday, they also lost the opportunity to play the game.
The decision to postpone both games at 5:11 p.m. EDT, or around two hours before the game was scheduled to start on Wednesday, was made, according to Mets manager Carlos Mendoza.
“You know, I oversee a group of people,” he remarked. “We were aware of the weather, but it is unpredictable. We arrived here on Tuesday, dropped a game, and were prepared to play today when we received a call.
The final two games in Atlanta have been rescheduled, so the Mets may have a demanding travel week ahead of them.
If Brewers qualify for the playoffs, they might take a plane back to Atlanta for the doubleheader on Monday and then swiftly board a different plane to begin the wild-card series on Tuesday, either back to Milwaukee or to the West Coast.
Positively, they did receive a few unplanned days off prior to this hectic period.
Mendoza remarked, “I mean, it could be beneficial.” A few players may require an additional day or two, but overall, your bullpen will be slightly more youthful.
If the playoff race is settled by Sunday, there’s a potential the doubleheader won’t even be necessary, but Mendoza wasn’t sure if a backup plan was in place.