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MLB weather report: Hurricane Helene could impact Braves-Mets and more

Mother Nature could have a bigger impact than MLB fans would like down the stretch.

By Zachary Rotman

Jul 6, 2024; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; General views of a rain delay before the start of the game between the Philadelphia Phillies against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images
Jul 6, 2024; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; General views of a rain delay before the start of the game between the Philadelphia Phillies against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images
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The most important series of the 2024 season thus far features two NL East rivals, the Atlanta Braves and the New York Mets, and is set to take place starting on Tuesday at Truist Park.

The Mets hold a two-game lead over Atlanta in the NL Wild Card race and can clinch a postseason berth if they win two of the three games they're scheduled to play, thanks to the head-to-head tiebreaker. If the Braves manage to win or sweep the series, things become a whole lot more interesting.

Only one thing can stand in the way of this series being as entertaining as it's supposed to be, and that's Mother Nature. We already saw rain impact the opener of an important series between the Detroit Tigers and Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday, and that's not even the worst of it.

Hurricane Helene is coming, and is expected to hit landfall in Florida on Thursday. With Georgia nearby, the Mets-Braves series could easily be impacted. In fact, there's a good chance that Thursday's game, at the very least, won't be played as scheduled. Other complications could be coming too.

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Hurricane Helene could impact crucial Mets-Braves series and more

As of now, this Mets-Braves series is set to be played as scheduled, but the forecast makes it unlikely to work out that way. With that in mind, there are a couple of ways MLB can deal with the weather concerns.

The easiest way to ensure that these teams can play all three games this week would be to move Thursday's game to a neutral site. A trip to Globe Life Field, home of the Texas Rangers, could potentially be in store for these teams as they'd avoid the hurricane and would have the comfort of a dome. Unfortunately, traveling to Texas just for one game would be a major inconvenience for everyone involved—and it would rob the Braves of the home field advantage that they deserve.

Another possibility is to schedule a double-header for Wednesday. The forecast for Wednesday isn't great either, but the conditions are supposed to be better, so perhaps they can get both games in. The problem with that, of course, is that a double-header puts both teams at a major disadvantage in regards to the pitching.

Moving the game from its scheduled 7:20 p.m. ET start on Thursday to sometime in the early afternoon might work out, but it's playing with fire considering the forecast.

The scenario MLB should want to avoid is forcing these teams to play a make-up game (or two) on Monday. Not only would that be an inconvenience for the Mets and Braves if one of these teams is eliminated from postseason contention, but it'd cause all sorts of problems with Game 1 of the Wild Card Round set to begin the following day. Travel becomes a nightmare, and pitching plans get impacted.

What we all hope for is that the forecast cooperates, but it's likely that it won't. What MLB decides to do with the back end of this series (and potentially others) might play a larger role in the postseason race than anyone would like.

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