The Atlanta Braves and New York Mets kicked off arguably the most important series of the 2024 MLB regular season on Tuesday night, with Atlanta winning the first of three games. The Mets lead the Wild Card spot by half a game, while the Braves are half a game behind. New York needs to win two of three games to clinch a postseason berth. The Braves can’t win this series, but this is their best (last?) chance to take a big step forward.
There’s one potential problem this week: Hurricane Helen. Formally upgraded to a hurricane in the National Hurricane Center’s 11 a.m. update Wednesday, the storm is expected to make landfall in Florida on Thursday as a Category 3 storm with winds in excess of 110 mph, bringing “life-threatening storm surge, damaging winds and flooding rains” to much of Florida and the southeastern U.S., the NHC said.
Hurricane Helen’s projected path will impact Georgia and could affect the Braves-Mets game later this week. Georgia Governor Brian Kemp has already declared a state of emergency. Here’s the latest from CBS News:
CBS News
Tropical storm-force rains are expected to begin in southern Florida late Wednesday and move north into the rest of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina through Thursday. Tornadoes are also possible in the region. Thunderstorms are expected to hit Atlanta by 1 p.m. Wednesday, bringing heavy rain directly into the area during Game 2 of Wednesday night’s Mets-Braves series and continuing through Friday.
MLB has yet to announce any adjustments for this week’s Braves-Mets game in response to Hurricane Helen, but forecasts indicate the series will likely be affected in some way. The league plans to coordinate with both teams and independent weather sources before making a decision, CBS Sports has learned. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said he hadn’t heard anything from the league yet as of around 5 p.m. Tuesday. With the storm looming, here are four options:
Move Thursday’s game forward
This is the easiest and most obvious solution: MLB could move up Thursday’s games, which currently start at 7:20 PM ET, to 1 PM or 12 PM ET, allowing the games to begin before the storm moves in. This would give the Mets a better chance of traveling to Milwaukee for their next series without weather issues (the Braves don’t have to travel after this series).
Playing a doubleheader on Wednesday
Forecasts suggest it may not be possible to play nine innings at any time on Thursday, but MLB may have the Braves and Mets play two games on Wednesday. Both teams will need to make pitching adjustments, but having an off day on Monday would make things a little easier. And if pitching adjustments are needed, so be it. Playing Thursday’s game as part of a Wednesday doubleheader would be the safest way to play all three games in Atlanta this week, but that seems unlikely given recent developments.
Move the game to a neutral location
If the weather forecast is of sufficient concern, MLB will move games to neutral locations. Entire series have been moved in the past. Here are three examples:
September 14-15, 2008: Chicago Cubs vs Houston Astros, Miller Park (Milwaukee). Rescheduled due to Hurricane Ike. August 29-31, 2017: Texas Rangers vs Houston Astros, Tropicana Field (Tampa). Rescheduled due to Hurricane Harvey. September 11-13, 2017: New York Yankees vs Tampa Bay Rays, Citi Field (New York). Rescheduled due to Hurricane Irma.
The 2008 Astros-Cubs game is famous for Carlos Zambrano’s no-hitter, which was MLB’s first no-hitter at a neutral venue.
Having the Tuesday and Wednesday games at Truist Park and the Thursday game at a neutral site is suboptimal. The entire series should be played in the same stadium and under the same conditions, but if Hurricane Helen forces the league to move the location of the Thursday game, it will have to be changed. The Rangers are on the road this week, so Globe Life Field in Arlington seems like a good alternative, but this is just speculation on my part. The flight from Atlanta is relatively short, and the retractable roof means weather shouldn’t be an issue.
Postpone Thursday’s games and replay them on Monday (if necessary)
This is the least desirable option: MLB could simply postpone Thursday’s game and, if the weekend’s results mean it will decide postseason contention, replay it next Monday, the day off between the end of the regular season and the start of the Wild Card Series. If the game is not relevant, there would be no replay and the Braves and Mets would have a 161-game season. But looking at the standings, it seems likely that the game will be important for one or both teams.
The storm forecast is worrisome enough that Thursday’s Braves-Mets game will likely be affected in some way. Moving the game to earlier on Thursday and playing a doubleheader on Wednesday would be the easiest solution. Postponing the game at a neutral site until after the regular season would make things more confusing, but sometimes it’s the only solution.
