The San Francisco Giants and Atlanta Braves will not play as scheduled tonight after hazardous weather conditions forced a postponement. Here’s what led to the decision and when the makeup game will be played.
The postponement creates scheduling challenges and raises questions about how the makeup game will affect each team’s pitching plans and upcoming series.
Why San Francisco Giants-Atlanta Braves Was Postponed Thursday
“Tonight’s game against the San Francisco Giants has been postponed due to forecasted inclement weather,” the Braves posted at about 11:30 a.m. “This game will now be played on Monday, August 31st at 6:05 PM ET.”
All tickets from tonight’s postponed game will be valid for the rescheduled game on August 31.
A flood watch and wind advisory blanketed the Atlanta area through the evening hours, making Thursday night baseball at Truist Park impossible. Precipitation probability sat at 90%, with rainfall totals of one to two inches expected. Thunderstorms were forecast to arrive before 11 p.m. ET, covering the entirety of what would have been a 7:15 p.m. first pitch. Wind gusts of up to 30 mph added another layer of hazard to an already unplayable forecast.
Multiple rounds of heavy rainfall pushed widespread accumulations to two to four inches across the Atlanta metro area, with localized amounts running even higher and flash flooding risk elevated across portions of the region. That combination of standing water, lightning, dangerous gusts and deteriorating field conditions left organizers no viable path to getting the game in Thursday night.
Atlanta-area news outlets explicitly attributed Thursday’s rain, flood watch and severe weather threat in north Georgia to the remnant of Tropical Storm Arthur, according to Atlanta News First.
When is the Giants-Braves Makeup Date?
The makeup game is scheduled for Monday, Aug. 31, at 6:05 p.m. ET at Truist Park. Tickets purchased for Thursday’s postponed contest are expected to be honored or exchanged for the rescheduled date, consistent with standard weather-postponement policy for this series.
Shifting a mid-June game to the final day of August is not as easy as it looks. Both rosters will look different by late summer, with injuries and depth chart changes in play. The Braves, who held the National League East lead at 46-27, already had at least one other makeup game on the calendar, a Chicago White Sox contest slated for Aug. 20. Stacking additional scheduling demands into that late-summer window complicates bullpen management and starting rotation alignment for both clubs heading into the stretch run.
The Giants arrived at Truist Park riding at least a degree of momentum. They swept a Wednesday doubleheader that featured a Luis Arraez home run and consistent pitching, then packed their bags without playing the series finale, missing the chance, at least for now, for a three-game sweep of a team many analysts consider the best in baseball. The June 16 opener was suspended by rain with San Francisco ahead, 3-2, in the bottom of the second inning, before resuming the following day as part of a split-schedule doubleheader.
Both clubs now get an unexpected break Thursday. Whether that rest helps or costs them depends entirely on where each team stands when Aug. 31 arrives.
Why Is the Giants-Braves Game Postponed Tonight? When Will it be Played?