Mets game against NL East rival Braves at Citi Field postponed; teams will play August doubleheader

The second game of a four-game series between the Mets and the Atlanta Braves has been postponed because of rain. The game will be played Aug. 12, as part of a split doubleheader, with one game scheduled for 1:10 p.m., and another taking place at 7:15 p.m., at Citi Field.

The Mets dropped the first game of the series 4-0 with the contest being called due to rain. With five full innings played, it was counted as an official game.

Fans who purchased tickets for Saturday can use them for the first game on Aug. 12, or exchange them for tickets of comparable price or location to use at another date during the regular season. Three games are excluded from this exchange: June 3, which is when the Mets are holding their Hall of Fame ceremony, and the two Subway Series games against the Yankees at Citi Field on June 13-14.

Sunday’s game may be threatened by bad weather as well. It was supposed to be a marquee weekend of baseball between two NL East rivals, but between the weather and the Mets’ pitching situation it’s become a more difficult series than anticipated.

David Peterson dropped the first game after the Braves took four runs off the left-handed in the fifth inning Friday night. Right-hander Tylor Megill was slated to start Saturday, but the Mets don’t have any pitchers listed for Sunday or Monday.

The team was hoping to have Max Scherzer available on Monday to pitch Game 4, but with one game postponed he won’t be eligible to return from his suspension until Tuesday when the Mets face the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park, Scherzer’s former team. This means Justin Verlander will likely line up Wednesday in the second game of a three-game set.

This isn’t the way Scherzer had hoped this would go. Part of the reason he opted not to appeal his 10-game sticky substance suspension was so that he could face the Braves in this series, one he deemed important because of the potential divisional implications.

“I’ll get a chance to face Atlanta,” Scherzer said last week in San Francisco after accepting his suspension. “If I get through this, get over it and get this in the rearview mirror then I can go out there and compete against our division.”

The one benefit of a rainout is that the Mets will now have a fresh bullpen for the rest of the series. They don’t have an off day until May 8, so the brief Saturday reprieve could be beneficial for a beleaguered pitching staff.

Sunday’s game is still scheduled for 1:40 p.m. Monday’s game will be at 1:10 and broadcast on ESPN+.

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