The Houston Astros, flooded out by Hurricane Harvey like everyone else, will take their next three games against the relatively nearby Texas Rangers on the road to St. Petersburg, Florida – but not without a lot of local commotion.
The Astros are set to play a three-game series against the Rangers at Tropicana Field – the home of the Tampa Bay Rays – in St. Pete this week, with the first game of the series scheduled for Tuesday, The Associated Press said.
The Astros could also end up playing a three-game series against the New York Mets at Tropicana Field, which is set to start Friday.
“The safety of our fans, players and staff remain our main priority,” Astros President Reid Ryan said. “We are extremely grateful to the Tampa Bay Rays organization for allowing us to use their facility.”
This isn't the first time the Astros have been forced to play home games far away from home. In 2008, the team played two home games in Milwaukee in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike.
According to the Bleacher Report, the MLB's decision send the Astros and Rangers to St. Pete to play their series caused a stir.
Ryan said the Rangers initially wanted the series to be played at their home field, Globe Life Park – in Arlington located between Dallas and Fort Worth – instead of in St. Petersburg.
"We went to the Rangers and said, 'Hey, let's switch series. You guys have our home series, we'll take your home series.' They rejected that and didn't want to do that," Ryan said.
"Rangers wanted us to play the next three days at their place, but they did not want to trade series with us. They wanted all six games at their park," he added.
However, Rangers general manager Jon Daniels defended the decision.
"We were prepared to make the event all about hurricane relief and helping our neighbors. It had nothing to do with looking for a competitive advantage. That's an inaccurate portrayal," Daniels said.
Hurricane Harvey has also forced the Houston Texans to end their preseason against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, the AP noted.
“You have to go about your business and handle it,” Texans cornerback Johnathan Joseph said Monday. “But it’s kind of hard at the same time to kind of sit there and play football and then think about your family that’s back home when there’s constantly updates going on around the clock about things that are going on back in your hometown.”
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