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Displaced Astros will play their next series at Tropicana Field

The Astros will play their next two series at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, because of flooding from Hurricane Harvey. [Getty Images]
The Astros will play their next two series at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, because of flooding from Hurricane Harvey. [Getty Images]
Published Aug. 29, 2017

The Rays are on the road this week, but there will be baseball at the Trop — with the Astros hosting the Rangers starting tonight, and possibly the Mets this weekend.

Damage and other complications from the severe storms in the Houston area forced the Astros to seek another venue at least for the three-game series with the Rangers. With the teams unable or unwilling to work out a swap, Major League Baseball, after consulting with the Rays on availability and logistics, chose Tropicana Field. A decision on the weekend series with the Mets is pending but seems likely.

Tickets for the games — 7:10 tonight and Wednesday, 1:10 Thursday — will be $10 with general admission seating in the lower bowl (excluding premium areas), available via raysbaseball.com/tickets and the Gate 1 box office. Gates open one hour before first pitch, with parking $10 and limited concessions available. Fans will be encouraged to make donations to the hurricane relief via redcross.org, calling toll-free 1-800-435-7669 (HELP-NOW) or texting HARVEY to 90999 to make a $10 donation.

The Astros, who flew to the Dallas area after their weekend series in Anaheim, Calif., will be the home team for the games. Major League Baseball is expected to reimburse the Rays for their expenses and staffing costs.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with all of those affected by Hurricane Harvey," team president Brian Auld said in a statement. "The Rays are proud to assist our partners in Major League Baseball by hosting the series, and we appreciate the support from Rays staff and the community to make it a success."

MLB has previously shifted at least three series to neutral sites due to weather concerns, last in 2008. In 2015, a Rays series at Baltimore was shifted to the Trop due to civil unrest.