ATLANTA -- Mother Nature has created the likelihood that the National League postseason picture won’t be completed until the Braves and Mets play a doubleheader on Monday afternoon at Truist Park.

Forecasts of inclement weather forced MLB to postpone the Mets-Braves games scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday in Atlanta. The games will be made up as part of a traditional doubleheader that will begin at 1:10 p.m. ET on Monday. The second game of the doubleheader will begin 40 minutes after the last out of the first game.

This is not the optimal way to determine a postseason race. The Mets will travel to Milwaukee on Thursday and begin a three-game series against the Brewers on Friday. They then would need to return to Atlanta on Monday.

Meanwhile, the Braves will remain in Atlanta for a three-game series starting Friday against the Royals, who may have trouble getting to town with Hurricane Helene making its way toward Georgia.

“We’ve got to move on to the next series,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “We’re facing another really good team in Milwaukee, and we’ve got to go out there and not only win a series, but we’ve got to go out there and take care of business. That’s the only thing we can do is control the things we can control.”

The Braves are a game behind the Mets and just a half-game behind the D-backs in the battle for the National League’s final two Wild Card spots.

Both the Braves and Mets own the tiebreaker over the D-backs. The Mets would need to sweep Monday’s twin bill to gain the tiebreaker over the Braves.

It will be a determination by the Commissioner if there are circumstances under which Monday’s games would not be played as scheduled.

At least one of the two teams will play the doubleheader on Monday and then travel to play Game 1 of the Wild Card Series on Tuesday.

“We're just going to have to assess the situation in totality, as far as the playoff ramifications,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “We’re going to have to be really fluid with the whole thing.”

PITCHING PLANS

METS

The Mets have not announced their pitching for the Milwaukee series, but Mendoza said it’s likely that left-hander Sean Manaea will start the Friday opener. Manaea, who has easily been the Mets’ best pitcher in the second half, would not be guaranteed a start on regular rest in a potential Wild Card Series unless he pitches Friday.

By Saturday, the Mets would have all of their starters available to them except Manaea and Luis Severino, who started in Tuesday's loss to the Braves and would be on regular rest Sunday (or an extra day Monday if the Mets saved him for the doubleheader).

BRAVES

The Braves also haven’t revealed who will serve as their starters against the Royals. Chris Sale was scheduled to start Wednesday night. If he pitches Friday’s series opener against Kansas City, he could be available for Game 2 of a potential Wild Card Series. Max Fried was scheduled for Thursday. If his start is pushed to Saturday, he’d be available for a potential Game 3.

But before thinking about the postseason, the Braves must earn an entry. Spencer Schwellenbach would be available to start on regular rest on Sunday. Or the rookie could start a game on Monday against the Mets, who have tallied just one run over 14 innings against him this year. That one run came in the seventh inning of Atlanta’s 5-1 win Tuesday.

Charlie Morton and Reynaldo López could also factor into the mix at any point against either the Royals or Mets. López is eligible to be activated from the injured list on Thursday. If he’s used as a starter, he would likely be limited to just a few innings. The All-Star right-hander has been sidelined since Sept. 10 with right shoulder inflammation.

“I don’t know how stretched out he will be, but he came in fine from his side [session] yesterday,” Snitker said. “That’s going to be part of the ongoing discussion about where all these guys fit and how we’re going to use them.”

THE LINDOR FACTOR

One silver lining for the Mets is that the rainouts give star shortstop Francisco Lindor multiple extra days to recover from a back injury that’s sidelined him since Sept. 15. Lindor was in the starting lineup Wednesday and would have played if the game had happened. As such, he is a near certainty to return Friday in Milwaukee.