ATLANTA -- Sunday's game between the Mets and Braves has been postponed due to rain. The teams will make the game up as part of a split-admission doubleheader on Memorial Day, May 28.
Rain began falling Sunday at SunTrust Park even before the game's 1:35 p.m. ET scheduled first pitch. It did not stop, and with more rain forecast throughout the day, the postponement became official about 50 minutes later.
The rain caused no major revisions to the Mets' pitching schedule. The team pushed Sunday's starter, Zack Wheeler, back to pitch its next game Tuesday in St. Louis. Steven Matz and Noah Syndergaard will each also push back a day, starting the final two games of that series. Jacob deGrom will pitch Friday in San Diego, followed by Jason Vargas, who will come off the disabled list to make his Mets debut Saturday against the Padres.
Vargas, who has spent the past month recovering from surgery to remove a broken bone from his right non-pitching hand, will throw approximately 75 pitches in a rehab start Monday for Triple-A Las Vegas. Assuming he comes out of that with no issues, Vargas will take the rotation spot of Matt Harvey, whom the Mets recently demoted to the bullpen.
Wheeler's ability to adapt to his rain-altered schedule will be critical as he tries to vindicate the Mets' decision to keep him, and not Harvey, in the rotation. Over his first two starts, Wheeler is 1-1 with a 2.77 ERA.
"Wheeler's throwing the ball really well," Mets manager Mickey Callaway said. "I think he deserves to stay in the rotation at this point. That's fairly obvious to me. That's why we made the decision we did. He's been solid. He's just got to keep it going."
The rainout turns the Mets' Memorial Day series into a four-game affair, with a doubleheader on May 28 followed by night games May 29 and 30.