• Loading stock data...
Friday, August 1, 2025
Tuned In returns to NYC on September 16. Hear from the biggest names in sports media. Click here to get your spot

Hurricane Disrupts Wild Card Race, Forces Mets-Braves Doubleheader

  • The major storm prompts schedule changes, impacting MLB’s Wild Card race.
  • Mets-Braves twinbill set as storm disrupts playoff implications.
Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

Hurricane Helene is making a mess of the end of Major League Baseball’s regular season, and the league is facing no shortage of criticism from fans and pundits regarding how it’s handled the situation. But the speed and rapid intensification of the storm created a set of unique circumstances for the league—in turn, adding another layer of drama to the final days before the postseason.

The storm, projected to make landfall Thursday night in Florida’s Big Bend region as at least a Category 3 hurricane, is forecast to produce heavy rainfall and tropical-force winds throughout much of the Southeast over the next 24 to 36 hours. Because of that, MLB postponed the final two games of a Mets-Braves series at Truist Park late Wednesday.

The two teams, each battling for Wild Card position in the National League playoff chase, are now scheduled to play a straight doubleheader on Monday, otherwise an off day for MLB between Sunday’s end of the regular season and Tuesday’s postseason start. The Mets-Braves makeup games, however, will not be played if they are not needed to determine playoff eligibility.

But should the games be played, the Braves or Mets are facing a potential cross-country trip right after the doubleheader to face the Padres or Dodgers—and with a pitching staff depleted from the doubleheader. As a result, the competitive landscape of the postseason could be significantly altered.

Not Always Like This

MLB has had a long history of being proactive in responding to hurricanes toward the end of the regular season—when there are fewer available dates to reschedule games. For example, the approach of Hurricane Irma in 2017 prompted MLB to shift a Rays-Yankees series from Tropicana Field to Citi Field in New York. Just last year, Hurricane Hilary—a rare tropical storm to hit Southern California—similarly led the league to reschedule a Rays-Angels series in Anaheim.

MLB sources, however, tell Front Office Sports there were some key differences in the situation surrounding Hurricane Helene. The system was not a named tropical storm by the National Hurricane Center until Tuesday morning, and before then had been thought to be a far smaller storm not as likely to impact the Atlanta area significantly.

Though Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp declared a state of emergency Tuesday afternoon, MLB and its weather advisors thought as recently as early Wednesday there still could be a window that evening to play—hopes that were dashed a few hours later.

Because of the swift acceleration of Hurricane Helene, there was essentially no window to consider shifting any of the games to a neutral site. Such a move not only requires approval of the teams and MLB Players Association—something that might have been difficult to obtain given the competitive implications—but also a minimum of 24 hours’ notice to prepare another ballpark operationally.

“I’ve never seen a hurricane intensify so quickly and in the way that Helene has here,” a league source tells FOS.

More problems are possible over the weekend as the Royals—also fighting for playoff position—are due to travel to Atlanta on Thursday after completing a series in Washington. Depending on the extent of the storm damage in Georgia, though, there may be schedule alterations to the Royals-Braves games.

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

Cubs Land 2027 MLB All-Star Game After Lengthy Pursuit

MLB will bring the Midsummer Classic to one of baseball’s cherished ballparks.
Carlos Correa
exclusive

Twins Moving Toward Selling Team After Deadline Teardown

Minnesota moved about 40% of its roster ahead of the trade deadline.
Jul 26, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Twins shortstop Carlos Correa (4) walks to the dugout after the ninth inning against the Washington Nationals at Target Field.

MLB’s Biggest Buyers in Frantic Deadline Weren’t Top Markets

Teams besides the Dodgers, Mets, and Yankees dominate MLB’s trade deadline.
Bristol Motor Speedway

MLB’s Long Road to Its Most Unusual Game Yet

The special-event game features a unique blending of baseball and racing.

Featured Today

Las Vegas sign

College Sports Embracing Vegas After Years of Cold Shoulder

The Big Ten became the latest newcomer to Sin City.
2000, Jupiter, FL, USA; FILE PHOTO; Montreal Expos pitcher Hideki Irabu in action on the mound against the New York Mets at Roger Dean Stadium during Spring Training
July 28, 2025

Dead Sports Franchises Are Alive and Well on Twitter

The Expos, Sonics, and Whalers have active social media accounts.
Limited Hype
July 27, 2025

Sneaker Reselling Was Once Easy Money. Success Is Now Complicated

Vendors need to evolve what they’re selling and how they do it.
HAPPY GILMORE 2. BTS - (L to R) Adam Sandler as Happy Gilmore and Rory McIlroy as himself on the set of Happy Gilmore2.
July 26, 2025

‘Cool As Hell’: How ‘Happy Gilmore 2’ Hooked Golf’s Top Stars

The process was “cool as hell,” Adam Sandler tells FOS.

Ex-NBPA Chief on WNBA CBA Challenges, NBA Stake in League

Tamika Tremaglio was a consultant for the 2020 WNBA CBA.
Happy Gilmore 2
July 31, 2025

Is ‘Happy Gilmore 2’ Really About LIV vs. PGA Tour?

The movie’s main plotline may sound familiar to many golf fans.
Michael Johnson
exclusive
July 31, 2025

Grand Slam Track Misses Deadline to Pay Athletes $3 Million

The league said it would pay athletes for their Kingston meet Thursday.
Sponsored

Game On: Portfolio Players Stories, Brought to You by E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley

Dealmaker Jeffrey Kaplan maps the evolution of sports as an asset class
July 31, 2025

NFL Preseason Getting Earliest Kickoff in 25 Years

The Lions and Chargers face off in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game.
Mike Repole
July 31, 2025

Billionaire Mike Repole Taking Ownership Stake in UFL

Repole is the cofounder of Vitaminwater and Body Armor. 
LeBron James
exclusive
July 30, 2025

LeBron Boat Meeting in France With Jokić Agent Was About New League

The group met to discuss a new global basketball league.
Moe Wagner
July 30, 2025

NBA Adding European Games As It Explores New League

The Magic and Grizzlies will play in Berlin and London in January 2026.