With the Houston area affected by flooding from Hurricane Harvey, the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers are shifting a three-game series to Tropicana Field. The series, which begins on Tuesday, was originally scheduled for Minute Maid Park.
Major League Baseball, along with both clubs, have confirmed that the series will now be played in St. Petersburg, FL, with the home of the Tampa Bay Rays serving as the host facility. The Astros have stated that their upcoming series against the New York Mets, which begins on Friday, may also be relocated to Tropicana Field, but that a final decision on those games will not be made until later this week.
The Astros are still going to play as the home team in all three games. Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s games are scheduled for 7:10 p.m. EST, with Thursday’s finale scheduled for 1:10 EST.
MLB and the Major League Baseball Players Association announced today that the parties will jointly donate $1 million to various relief efforts for the damage throughout the state of Texas created by Hurricane Harvey, including to the American Red Cross.
“The safety of our fans, players and staff remain our main priority,” said Astros president of business operations Reid Ryan in a statement. “We are extremely grateful to the Tampa Bay Rays organization for allowing us to use their facility. We’ll make a decision on this weekend’s series vs. the Mets in the upcoming days as we continue to monitor the conditions. In the meantime, our thoughts and prayers are with all of those affected by the Hurricane.”
“The thoughts of the Texas Rangers organization are with all the individuals who have been affected by this devastating weather in South Texas and the Houston area,” said Texas Rangers Foundation chairman and Rangers ownership committee chairman Neil Leibman in a statement. “We pray for their safety in these very difficult circumstances.”