Are you ready for a doubleheader that could determine the Mets’ season? Because it’s now possible.
MLB announced Wednesday afternoon that it has postponed both Wednesday and Thursday’s scheduled Braves-Mets games in Atlanta due to the threat of inclement weather from current Tropical Storm Helene, which could unleash up to two feet of rain in the area over the next 48 hours.
The games will be made up as a straight doubleheader Monday beginning at 1:10 p.m., with Game 2 beginning approximately 40 minutes after the conclusion of Game 1.
The rub of it all: the forecast has been deteriorating for days, and both the Mets and Braves were off on Monday, the Amazins coming from New York after a Sunday night game with the Phillies and Atlanta returning home from Miami, so there has been a lot of chatter online among fans and pundits alike wondering why MLB did not either move one of the games to Monday and/or have a doubleheader Tuesday to try to get as many of the games in the series in as possible ahead of the storm.
The other rub: the Mets are currently a half-game up on Arizona and Atlanta is a half-game behind the D-Backs, so it’s possible that those two games could decide multiple Wild Card spots – leaving two of those three teams, as well as two of the three division winners, not knowing where they will be or who they will be facing in Game 1 of the NLDS on Tuesday until dinner time Monday.
The Mets will also now have a big decision to make about their rotation for the final five games, as Jose Quintana and David Peterson were scheduled to face Atlanta in the final two games – but both Sean Manaea and Tylor Megill will be available on regular rest for this weekend’s series in Milwaukee, who stands three games behind the Dodgers for the lone NL playoff bye and 2 ½ behind the Phillies for the second seed, so they may be playing simply for seeding (or nothing at all) while the Mets are playing for their October lives.