Hurricane Helene forces postponement of rest of Mets-Atlanta series as Monday doubleheader scheduled

ATLANTA — Hurricane-induced chaos introduced a new obstacle in the Mets’ path to the postseason Wednesday.

Their final two games against Atlanta — Wednesday and Thursday — were postponed and rescheduled as part of a doubleheader Monday. If necessary, the teams will play 18 innings on what was supposed to be a one-day break between the regular season and playoffs.

That leaves the Mets with a daunting proposition: Five games in four days in two cities as they try to hang on to their National League wild-card berth. They’re set to resume their season Friday against the Brewers in Milwaukee.

“The one thing is we’ve been through a lot this year,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “This is nothing new for us.”

Well, this is kind of new. The Mets and Atlanta wound up playing just one of their three scheduled games this week, a 5-1 Atlanta win Tuesday night. Consistent rain Wednesday followed by the pending arrival of Hurricane Helene late Thursday wiped out the rest.

The Mets entered Wednesday in the second of three NL wild-card positions. They were a half-game ahead of Arizona (which played late Wednesday) and one game ahead of Atlanta.

The doubleheader makeup is far from ideal for anybody, especially the Mets, who will mix in an additional flight, from Milwaukee to Atlanta. If those games would determine only postseason seeding — and not the playoff field, in the event the Diamondbacks play themselves out of contention between now and then — it will be up to commissioner Rob Manfred whether they play at all.

“It’s my understanding that if it didn’t matter, then we wouldn’t play it,” Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said.

Until told otherwise, the Mets’ plan is to play in Milwaukee through Sunday, fly to Atlanta for potentially two games, then — if they make the playoffs — go back to Milwaukee or to San Diego for the best-of-three first round beginning Tuesday.

“If we’re playing a playoff game, that’s a good thing,” Mendoza said. “I’m not going to get too far ahead.”

An additional Mets-adjacent variable: Atlanta is home again this weekend, hosting the Royals, who are competing for an AL wild-card spot. But it’s not clear how many of their three games they’ll be able to fit in, given the weather.

“I don’t know if the Royals can get here,” Snitker said.

The Mets were “trying” to leave Georgia Thursday morning, Mendoza said. Milwaukee, with a roof on the ballpark and distance from tropical storm systems, should provide a relative calm. It may help the Mets, too, that the Brewers have clinched the NL Central and don’t need to go all out this weekend. They can rest relievers, minimize their starters’ pitch counts and sit key players. These games barely matter to them.

“We gotta move on to the next series now,” Mendoza said. “Facing another really good team in Milwaukee and we gotta go out there and not only win a series, but we gotta go out there and take care of business. That’s the only thing we can do.”

Could MLB have acted earlier in the week and moved Mets-Atlanta to a neutral site in, say, Texas?

“That all sounds good, but I think probably putting all that together is a little more involved than what we even think,” Snitker said. “I never heard that [possibility].”

A Mets official said Atlanta resisted moving up game times because of ballpark logistical concerns such as security, concessions and parking. With rain starting early Wednesday afternoon, it might not have mattered.

A potential side benefit for the Mets: two additional days off for Francisco Lindor, who has missed eight consecutive games because of a back strain. He was in the Mets’ ultimately unused lineup Wednesday, playing shortstop and batting leadoff, because he was “feeling good,” Mendoza said.

Brandon Nimmo was set to start the game on the bench, but that was because the Mets were stacking righthanded hitters against Atlanta lefty Chris Sale, according to Mendoza.

Now, the Mets might not have to face Sale at all, if Atlanta throws him against the Royals (which it had not committed to as of Wednesday evening).

The Mets, likewise, had yet to sort out their rotation. Mendoza said there was a “good chance” Sean Manaea would pitch Friday against the Brewers. That would allow him to start again as soon as possible in the first round of the playoffs.

By Tim Healey

timothy.healey@newsday.com@timbhealey

Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.