They say lightning doesn’t strike the same place twice, but the same rules don’t typically apply when it comes to hurricanes. In the case of Atlanta, we are heading towards an eerily similar situation to one that unfolded back in 2022.
Two years ago, the Mets and Atlanta Braves were enthralled in a great pennant race, with New York leading the NL East by one game when the two teams met for a late September series.
Unfortunately all that people were talking about before the series was the weather, as Hurricane Ian was forecasted to head up the west coast of Florida and right through Atlanta, dumping inches of water on Truist Park, where the Braves were set to host the Mets.
Back then, I wrote about the implications of the weather, and the solutions Major League Baseball could be proactive about to get around a lost series. Well, instead of listening to me or anyone else who said the games should be moved to a neutral site, MLB waited it out and their patience was rewarded.
All three games were played on schedule and the Braves swept the Mets, turning a one game deficit into a two-game lead with three left to play. They also earned the tiebreaker by winning the season series, which came in handy as the Mets and Braves finished with an identical 101-win campaign.
The Mets were bounced by the Padres in the NL Wild Card round, while the Braves took a beating from the Phillies in the NLDS. Now here we are two years later, and Phillies are now on top of the NL East, while the Mets and Braves are fighting it out in the Wild Card race.
Once again, these two teams are playing their second-to-last series against one another, in games that could decide their fate come October. And again there is a hurricane!
What Are the Chances of Hurricane Helene Postponing Games?
Last time MLB waited out a]the storm it worked in their favor, as the season went off without a hitch back in 2022. Will they be as fortunate this year?
Considering what happened last time, we really can’t rule anything out. These storms are unpredictable, where there is a chance it won’t have any impact on the series, or it could completely wash away the Braves homestand to end their season, and put MLB in a huge pickle.
Looking at the forecast at Truist Park for Wednesday, there is a flood watch that has been put on beginning at 2:00 p.m. as Atlanta is expected to get plenty of rain.
With that said, the eye of the storm is not expected to hit Atlanta until Thursday night, so there is a chance they don’t get as much rain as some are predicting.
If they can get Wednesday’s game in, that would ease a lot of the pressure from Major League Baseball, as there are still three times battling it out for two Wild Card spots, where a game-162 or even a game-161 might not matter.
There is a world where history repeats itself, and Atlanta does not get hit by this storm, allowing all three games to be played, but that seems rather unlikely. And with no word coming from Major League Baseball on Tuesday, any thoughts of moving the series to a neutral site, or trying to play a doubleheader on Wednesday is out of the question.
Even further, the Braves next series is also to be played in Atlanta, where they take on another team in a playoff race in the Kansas City Royals.
So how will postponed games impact the Wild Card race?
MLB is Rooting Against the D-Backs Right Now
Now it might sound crazy to see this, but what MLB needs more than anything to get out of this situation is for the Arizona Diamondbacks to lose. Going into play on Wednesday, the Mets have a half-game lead over Arizona in the race, while the Braves are a half a game behind the D-Backs.
With three teams separated by one game, anything can happen.
Arizona is at a disadvantage though, because they lost their season series to both the Braves and the Mets, meaning each holds a tiebreaker over the D-Backs. So all the Mets and Braves have to do by the end of the season is catch them in the win column.
The Diamondbacks opened up their homestand against the Giants on Monday, and they have already lost the first two games of the series. This gives them one less game to play than the Mets and Braves right now.
With four games left, the most wins the D-Backs can get to is 91, the same amount the San Diego Padres have already reached. The Padres are in a race atop the NL West with the Los Angeles Dodgers right now, and beat them on an insane triple play on Tuesday night.
The win cut the Padres deficit in the NL West to just two games, and they still have two more to play this week. If the Padres sweep the series, or even just win it, they have a chance to win the NL West if things break their way in their final series. This is important because they play in Arizona.
Playing a Padres team that is the hottest in baseball right now is no small task for the D-Backs. Especially if they still have something to play for.
Even if they salvage a win against the Giants, the D-Backs could easily get swept by San Diego to close out their season. If that was the case, they would finish with 88 wins, meaning the Mets would only need to win one more game to make the playoffs. The Braves would need to win two.
In this instance, if the Mets vs. Braves series was rained out, they could make it a moot point if they both won a game or two to close out the year. Now if the D-Backs won two of their final four games, it would take a bit more heavy-lifting, but a Mets series win and Braves series sweep would make those final few games meaningless.
Where things will get complicated though is if either the Mets or Braves lose in their final series, and if the D-Backs win. If the D-Backs finish ahead by a game, making up the postponed games would become a necessity to whatever team fell behind.
How Will They Make Up the Games?
If the Mets and Braves have one or two of these games postponed, they would be made up on Monday, the day after the end of the season. Because the Wild Card round starts on Tuesday, this would put the Mets and Braves at a considerable disadvantage, having to play on their travel day and exhaust their pitching before flying across the country to play a Wild Card series.
There is a world where one of these two teams runs the table in their final series and clinches a playoff berth, and they still have to make up these games to decide the race between the other team and the Diamondbacks. That would be a nightmare for MLB.
Hopefully, the weather will cooperate with the Mets and Braves, and we will able to get at least one more matchup between these teams before the rain gets in the way.
In the meantime, MLB will take this situation day-by-day, waiting to see how Hurricane Helene will impact the end of their season.
Be the first to comment