Astros will move series to Florida

HOUSTON — Hurricane Harvey has forced the Houston Astros to play home games miles away from the flood-stricken city with players wondering when they will be able to come back.

The Astros will play a threegame series against the Rangers at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla., starting Tuesday.

Both the Astros and Rangers flew to Dallas after games in California on Sunday to await news of where the series would be held. They will now head to St. Petersburg, where the Astros will have “home” games far from home, just like they did in the wake of Hurricane Ike in 2008 when they played two scheduled home games in Milwaukee.

The team also said a threegame series against the Mets that begins on Friday may also be played at Tropicana Field, the home of the Tampa Bay Rays. A person with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press that the decision has already been made and shared with the players, though there was no word from the team or Major League Baseball. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the move was not disclosed.

If the Astros play both series in Florida, they will end up playing 19 straight games away from Houston, where the AL West leaders last played on Aug. 24. A 10-game road trip begins after the Mets series.

Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said the team was open to hosting the series in Arlington, but had no interest in swapping a series against the Astros later in the season.

Daniels said the Rangers declined partially because of thoughts for the fans, but also because that change would have left the Rangers with a 12-game road trip late in the season.