The Braves’ all-important games against the Mets on Wednesday and Thursday were postponed because of Hurricane Helene, MLB announced.
The clubs will play a traditional doubleheader Monday at Truist Park. the first game will begin at 1:10 p.m., with the second game beginning approximately 40 minutes after the end of game one. It will be a single-admission doubleheader, requiring one ticket for both games. The gates will open at 11:30 a.m.
Tickets for Wednesday’s game will not be valid for admission Monday, while tickets for Thursday’s game will be honored Monday.
“I’ve never been through (something like this),” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “It’s just kind of right on pace with what this year has provided.”
MLB communicated with the Braves and Mets in the past few days in anticipation for the weather. The hope was there’d be a window Wednesday evening to play a full game but the forecast worsened. The oft-cited alternatives – moving one of the games to this past Monday, when both clubs were off, or relocating the series to a neutral site – would’ve required player approval.
The Commissioner’s Office can determine if there are circumstances under which the doubleheader would not occur. And the expectation is that the games will only be played if necessary.
A Monday doubleheader made the most sense for the teams, even if it isn’t ideal. Here are a few points to note:
- A neutral site series always seemed illogical for the Braves. These were their home games. Why move them? Plus, it would create logistical challenges in terms of flying the teams somewhere else. This was never happening. (Snitker on this: ”I mean, yeah, I think that all sounds good, but putting all that together is a little more involved than what we think. But I never heard that.”
- Could the teams have played a doubleheader on Tuesday? Possibly. But doubleheaders are often split, and both the Braves and Mets need every win. This wouldn’t have been a great scenario to begin the series. And they still would’ve needed to play Monday.
- In theory, MLB could’ve moved the series opener up to Monday. But the Mets, who played on Sunday Night Baseball, might not have approved that. Plus, the teams would’ve needed to set up their pitching differently.
- Perhaps the Braves could’ve moved up the start time of Wednesday’s game. But rain in the area began shortly after 12 p.m. And MLB only wants clubs to begin a game if they can get the starter through five innings to make the game official. The league prefers clubs not burn a starter if they cannot realistically get to an official game. (”No, hell no,” Snitker said Wednesday afternoon of the idea of playing at 10 a.m. or 11 a.m. Wednesday morning.)
In an alternative universe, the Mets and Braves would only need to make up one game. On April 10, the Mets-Braves game at Truist Park was postponed due to inclement weather. Instead of having the makeup game scheduled for a mutual off day throughout the season, the Mets preferred to tack on that game to this series, which originally was a two-game set.
Monday’s doubleheader is a major wrinkle in the National League wild-card race. The Braves, Mets and Diamondbacks – each within a game of each other - are competing for two wild-card spots. If Arizona is eliminated over the weekend, it would be the commissioner’s call whether the Braves and Mets would still play their doubleheader to determine seeding. So the Braves and Mets could potentially only play one game Monday rather than a doubleheader; it depends if the games matter to the postseason race.
The three teams are likely competing for the fifth and sixth seeds, with an outside chance at landing the top wild card if San Diego – which clinched a postseason berth Tuesday – falters in the coming days. The Braves defeated the Mets on Tuesday to pull within one game of New York and a half-game of Arizona. It now seems likely these clubs won’t know their fate until Monday evening. Of note: The Braves and Mets both hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Diamondbacks. The winner of the Braves-Mets series will hold the head-to-head tiebreaker between those clubs.
The two teams that advance will open a best-of-three wild-card series the following day (Oct. 1). For the Braves or Mets, that could require a cross-country flight to San Diego or Los Angeles after the doubleheader as the No. 5 seed. The No. 6 seed likely will travel to Milwaukee, which already clinched the NL Central and is currently several games behind the top-two seeds (the Phillies and Dodgers).
Obviously, from a pitching and travel standpoint, these circumstances are unideal for the Braves and Mets.
“It’s going to be different, that’s for sure,” Snitker said. “Going forward, we’re going to have to assess the situation in totality, I think, as far as the playoff ramifications. We’re going to have to be fluid with the whole thing. We were just talking about that now, how we’re going to line our pitching up, things like that, and go from there.”
Braves ace and Cy Young front-runner Chris Sale was set to start Wednesday. He might not necessarily pitch Friday when the Braves open a three-game series against the Royals at Truist Park, Snitker said. “That’s what we’re talking about now, how we’re going to approach the weekend,” Snitker said Wednesday afternoon. Starting Sale, of course, gives the Braves the best chance to win, and they likely would want him for one of the doubleheader games against New York (which would eliminate him as an option in the wild-card series should the Braves advance). Reynaldo Lopez, who’s set to return from the injured list, won’t be able to cover a bigger workload but should factor into the team’s plans.
The visiting Royals could have clinched an American League wild card by the time they get to Atlanta if they win the next two games, which could help the Braves since Kansas City might take its foot off the gas. But the Royals currently are battling the Tigers, Twins and Mariners for two open wild-card spots. The Mets will face the Brewers in Milwaukee this weekend, while the Diamondbacks are finishing a series against San Francisco on Wednesday night before hosting the Padres for three games this weekend.
FanGraphs’ postseason odds favor the Mets and Braves securing the final two spots. It gives the Mets a 77.6% chance at qualifying for the tournament, followed by the Braves at 69.1% and the Diamondbacks at 53.2%. The Braves, who saw their six-year run atop the NL East end, are vying for a seventh consecutive postseason appearance. This would be the Braves’ first wild-card berth since 2012.
Yes, the Mets must travel back to Atlanta from Milwaukee. That won’t be fun. But the doubleheader isn’t great news for the Braves, either.
Atlanta handled New York in Tuesday’s series opener and had Sale going on Tuesday. The new arrangement gives Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor more time to heal. It also takes away two night games from the Braves, who expected big crowds for the Wednesday and Thursday contests.
The Braves felt like they had some momentum heading into Wednesday.
“I kind of really liked where we were at,” Snitker said. “When we left here yesterday, I said, ‘We’re finally kind of getting the right guys hot, we got a little momentum, the flow’s going pretty good.’ I was like, man – I wanted to keep rolling with this thing through the weekend.”
