ATLANTA — The Braves’ all-important games against the New York Mets on Wednesday and Thursday were postponed because of Hurricane Helene, MLB announced.

The clubs will play a traditional doubleheader Monday at Truist Park. the first game will begin at 1:10 p.m. ET, with the second game beginning approximately 40 minutes after the end of game one. It will be a single-admission doubleheader, requiring one ticket for both games. The gates will open at 11:30 a.m.

Tickets for Wednesday’s game will not be valid for admission Monday, while tickets for Thursday’s game will be honored Monday.

MLB communicated with the Braves and Mets in the past few days in anticipation for the weather. The hope was there’d be a window Wednesday evening to play a full game but the forecast worsened. The oft-cited alternatives – moving one of the games to this past Monday, when both clubs were off, or relocating the series to a neutral site – would’ve required player approval.

This is a major wrinkle in the National League wild-card race. The Braves, Mets and Diamondbacks – each within a game of each other - are competing for two wild-card spots. If Arizona is eliminated over the weekend, it would be the commissioner’s call whether the Braves and Mets would still play their doubleheader to determine seeding. So the Braves and Mets could potentially only play one game Monday rather than a doubleheader; it depends if the games matter to the postseason race.

The three teams are likely competing for the fifth and sixth seeds, with an outside chance at landing the top wild card if San Diego — which clinched a postseason berth Tuesday — falters in the coming days. The Braves defeated the Mets on Tuesday to pull within one game of New York and a half-game of Arizona. It now seems likely these clubs won’t know their fate until Monday evening. Of note: The Braves and Mets both hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Diamondbacks. The winner of the Braves-Mets series will hold the head-to-head tiebreaker between those clubs.

The two teams that advance will open a best-of-three wild-card series the following day (Oct. 1). For the Braves or Mets, that could require a cross-country flight to San Diego or Los Angeles after the doubleheader as the No. 5 seed. The No. 6 seed will likely travel to Milwaukee, which already clinched the NL Central and is currently several games behind the top-two seeds (the Phillies and Dodgers).

Obviously, from a pitching and travel standpoint, these circumstances are unideal for the Braves and Mets.

“It’s going to be different, that’s for sure,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “Going forward, we’re going to have to assess the situation in totality, I think, as far as the playoff ramifications. We’re going to have to be fluid with the whole thing. We were just talking about that now, how we’re going to line our pitching up, things like that, and go from there.”

Braves ace and Cy Young front-runner Chris Sale was set to start Wednesday. He might not necessarily pitch Friday when the Braves open a three-game series against the Royals at Truist Park, Snitker said. “That’s what we’re talking about now, how we’re going to approach the weekend,” Snitker said Wednesday afternoon. Starting Sale, of course, gives the Braves the best chance to win, and they likely would want him for one of the doubleheader games against New York (which would eliminate him as an option in the wild-card series should the Braves advance). Reynaldo Lopez, who’s set to return from the injured list, won’t be able to cover a bigger workload but should factor into the team’s plans.

The visiting Royals could have clinched an American League wild card by the time they get to Atlanta if they win the next two games, which could help the Braves since Kansas City might take its foot off the gas. But the Royals currently are battling the Tigers, Twins and Mariners for two open wild-card spots. The Mets will face the Brewers in Milwaukee this weekend, while the Diamondbacks are finishing a series against San Francisco on Wednesday night before hosting the Padres for three games this weekend.

FanGraphs’ postseason odds favor the Mets and Braves securing the final two spots. It gives the Mets a 77.6% chance at qualifying for the tournament, followed by the Braves at 69.1% and the Diamondbacks at 53.2%. The Braves, who saw their six-year run atop the NL East end, are vying for a seventh consecutive postseason appearance. This would be the Braves’ first wild-card berth since 2012.

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