ATLANTA — The weather is looking dreadful for the Mets and Braves and more importantly for Georgia.
The Mets and Braves were scheduled to play Wednesday night amid a storm that was unrelated to Hurricane Helene, which was expected to reach Atlanta on Thursday.
The clubs hoped to sneak in a game before the greater threats arrived.
A meteorologist reached did not like the odds of baseball being played Wednesday.
“Unfortunately it seems like it’s going to be pretty steady and consistent for much of this afternoon and this evening,” FOX 5 Atlanta’s Jeff Hill said over the phone. “So the chances of getting this game in [Wednesday], I would say, are pretty much slim to none.”
Playing the series finale on Thursday appears to be a pipe dream, and the Braves’ last series of the season, home against the Royals, which is set to begin Friday, also could be affected.
The weather is wreaking havoc at the wrong time for Major League Baseball, whose regular season is supposed to conclude Sunday before the playoffs begin Tuesday.
Hill estimated the storms could dump 6-10 inches of rain on Northern Georgia from Wednesday through Friday and expected winds of 70-80 mph.
Even the notion of the Mets returning to Atlanta for a doubleheader Monday, a day after the season was expected to finish, would be “pretty tough” for Hill to envision.
“As far as wind and rain combining the way this thing is going to, it could be really devastating as far as so many trees down and power outages and that kind of thing,” said Hill, who did not see a scenario in which the hurricane takes a turn and spares Atlanta.
Hill anticipated there would be a risk of tornadoes locally on Thursday and Friday, furthering the dangers in a state with many tall pine trees and plenty of overhead power lines.
Major League Baseball was in dialogue with the Mets and Braves, who are fighting for NL wild-card spots and likely will have to figure out contingency plans.
“This could be quite a devastating storm for us,” Hill said.
