Rays will play 19 of their first 22 games at home as MLB switches series to avoid summer rain

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FILE - The roof of the Tropicana Field is damaged the morning after Hurricane Milton hit the region, Oct. 10, 2024, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Mike Carlson, File)

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FILE - The New York Yankees host the Detroit Tigers during their home opener spring training baseball game at George M. Steinbrenner Field, Sunday, March 20, 2022, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)

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FILE - Signage at the entrance to the parking lot of Tropicana Field where the roof was torn off during Hurricane Milton on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Mike Carlson, File)

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FILE - The roof of the Tropicana Field is damaged the morning after Hurricane Milton hit the region, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Mike Carlson, File)

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FILE - A sign welcoming baseball fans to George M. Steinbrenner Field, the spring training home of the New York Yankees is shown Tuesday, July 13, 2010, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara, File)

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FILE - Fans arrive at George M. Steinbrenner Field for a spring training exhibition baseball game between the New York Yankees and the Pittsburgh Pirates in Tampa, Fla., Saturday, March 13, 2021. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar

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FILE - The roof of the Tropicana Field is damaged the morning after Hurricane Milton hit the region, Oct. 10, 2024, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball switched a pair of series involving the Tampa Bay Rays to the first two months of the season in an attempt to avoid summer rain at open-air Steinbrenner Field, their temporary home following damage to Tropicana Field.

Tampa Bay is scheduled to play 19 of its first 22 games at home and 37 of 54 through May 28, then play 64 of its last 108 games on the road. The Rays are home for eight games each in July and August.

A series scheduled at the Los Angeles Angels from April 7-9 will instead be played at Tampa, Florida, from April 8-10, MLB said Monday. The second series between the teams will be played at Anaheim, California, from Aug. 4-6 instead of at St. Petersburg, Florida, from Aug. 5-7.

Minnesota’s first series against the Rays will be played at Steinbrenner Field from May 26-28 and the Twins’ second will be at Target Field in Minneapolis from July 4-6.

Tampa Bay heads into the All-Star break with a 10-game trip to Minnesota, Detroit and Boston, and has a 12-game trip to the Angels, Seattle, Oakland and San Francisco from Aug. 4-17.

Tropicana Field, the Rays’ home since the team started play in 1998, was heavily damaged by Hurricane Milton on Oct. 9, with most of its fabric roof shredded. The Rays cannot return to the Trop until 2026 at the earliest, if at all.

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Tampa’s average monthly rainfall from 1991 to 2020 was 2.25 inches in April and 2.60 in May, according to the National Weather Service, then rose to 7.37 in June, 7.75 in July and 9.03 in August before falling to 6.09 in September.

The Class A Tampa Tarpons, the usual team at Steinbrenner Field, had six home postponements, two cancellations and four suspended games this year from June 21 through their season finale on Sept. 8.

The Rays are now scheduled to play their first six games at home against Colorado and Pittsburgh, go to Texas for a three-game series, then return for a 13-game homestand against the Angels, Atlanta, Boston and the New York Yankees.

The Tarpons will play their home games on a back field.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/