MLB Opening Day: Phillies-Braves, Brewers-Mets postponed to Friday due to rain

Two MLB season openers in New York and Philadelphia were postponed until Friday due to rainy forecasts on the East Coast, teams announced Wednesday.

The Milwaukee Brewers were scheduled to visit the New York Mets in Queens Thursday. The teams will instead meet a day later at 1:40 p.m. ET. Shortly after the Mets and Brewers confirmed thenews, the Philadelphia Phillies informed fans that their home opener against the Atlanta Braves was pushed from Thursday to Friday at 3:05 p.m.

It's been a highly anticipated matchup, pitting the Braves against the club that eliminated them from the postseason last year for the second consecutive campaign. As a consolation for the wait to watch the rivalry, the Phillies offered scarves to attendees of the delayed opener.

"The decision was made after consultation with Major League Baseball and various weather services," Phillies executive vice president David Buck said in a statement.

Multiple states are under flood watch as heavy rain advances toward the East Coast, according to ABC News. Heavy snow in the Upper Midwest is reportedly responsible for the weather shift, as it began continued moving east Wednesday.

Areas between Florida and southern Georgia were reportedly seeing large hail, described to be "the size of pingpong balls." Meanwhile, people between New Mexico and Minnesota got 20 to 40 inches of snow.

This led to Thursday's flood watches from Florida to Virginia. The Jersey shore, Long Island and eastern parts of New England are reportedly expected to get the worst of the rain through Thursday night.

Barring further weather delays, 24 teams will still make their season debuts between thirteen other MLB openers Thursday.

The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres started off the 2024 season by appearing in the two-game Seoul Series last week. The Dodgers will lead things off again, playing the first contest of Opening Day against the Baltimore Orioles at 3:5 p.m. ET Thursday.