Updated

As cities in the Northeast prepared Friday for the arrival of Hurricane Irene, Major League Baseball teams were scrambling to reschedule weekend games that could be affected by the strong storm.

The New York Mets postponed two games against the Atlanta Braves, scheduled for Saturday and Sunday at Citi Field, after Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced emergency plans that included the shutdown of the city's mass transit system at noon on Saturday.

The mayor also called on residents of low-lying areas of the country's largest city to evacuate ahead of the storm.

The hurricane, a potential category 2 storm, could begin to hit New York City by late Saturday afternoon and enter the area at full force on Sunday.

"This is very serious," Bloomberg said Friday. "Do not be fooled by the sun outside. That is the calm before the storm."

The Mets-Braves games were rescheduled as a single-admission doubleheader on Thursday, September 8 -- a scheduled off day for both teams. Friday's series opener was unaffected by the plans.

Further south, the Philadelphia region was also bracing for the hurricane, forcing the Phillies to postpone their Saturday night game against the Florida Marlins.

"Given the deteriorating forecast for Saturday night's game, as well as the evening shut down of public transportation and the concern about conditions our fans might face leaving our game late Saturday night, the decision was made to postpone the 7:05 p.m. game," said Phillies senior vice president Mike Stiles.

The game will be played on September 15 at a time yet to be determined.

Saturday afternoon's contest against Florida -- which had already been moved up from Sunday afternoon due to Irene -- will still be played as scheduled at 1:05 p.m. (et).