Updated

The threat of Hurricane Irene, and a shutdown of New York's mass transit system, has forced the New York Mets to postpone games Saturday and Sunday against the Atlanta Braves at Citi Field.

Rumors began swirling Friday afternoon that the Mets had initially postponed Sunday's game and were set to move the start time for Saturday's game from 4 p.m. (et) to noon (et) in hopes of beating the storm.

However, New York's mass transit system is scheduled to shut down at noon on Saturday.

Hurricane Irene, a potential category 2 storm, could begin to hit New York City by late Saturday afternoon with the full force entering the area on Sunday.

The Braves don't have another scheduled trip to New York this season, but the teams could make up the games on September 8 -- a scheduled off day for both teams.