Getty Image / Kevin C. Cox
Both Wild Card races are coming down the nitty-gritty, and a huge three-game series between the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets was supposed to headline the pennant race in the final week of the season. But, the weather has thrown a huge wrench into that, with games 2 and 3 of the series being postponed Monday due to expected heavy rain in the Atlanta metro.
Now, both teams are going to be at a serious disadvantage when one or both of them start the playoffs next week. It all could’ve been avoided had Major League Baseball been more proactive.
The Atlanta Braves won 5-1 on Tuesday night over the Mets to cut a two-game Mets lead to just one. Importantly, the tiebreaker is also up for grabs in this series, as the two teams entered the week having split the previous ten matchups. To complicate things even further, the Diamondbacks are a third team involved in the chase for two spots. The Mets sit a half-game ahead of Arizona and the Braves are a 1/2 game back for that third Wild Card spot.
Heavy rain in Atlanta has been predicted since at least this past weekend as Tropical Storm Helene hits the Southeast over the next few days. Now, the teams are going to have to play a doubleheader on Monday a day after finishing up three-game series, with the Mets playing the Brewers and the Braves playing the Royals. The NL Wild Card Round is scheduled to start on Tuesday, meaning these teams will be completely depleted of pitching, significantly hurting them in a playoff series.
There were a few options that Major League Baseball could’ve pressured the Braves, who as the host team had control over much of this, into doing.
First, both teams had off days on Monday. They could’ve looked at the forecast and played one of the games on Monday in Atlanta. While this would’ve left one game left to play, odds of needing that one game for seeding and selection is less than needing two, and that would mean they only have to play one game next Monday.
They could’ve scheduled a doubleheader on Tuesday, thereby only needing one game next Monday. Or, if they wanted to get it all in this week, they could’ve played one Monday, one Tuesday, and one Wednesday afternoon, when weather was clear enough in Atlanta to make that happen.
The most far-fetched solution would’ve been to try to move the games. I understand why the Braves wouldn’t have wanted to do that and give up their home-field advantage for these crucial games. But, it certainly would’ve prevented a Monday doubleheader.
Frankly, it comes off as if Rob Manfred and the Braves were pretty unprepared for this situation, and now both teams may suffer because of it.