Hurricane Irma forces Rays-Yankees series to Mets' Citi Field
The MLB series between the Rays and the Yankees has been moved from Florida to New York, with Hurricane Irma set to make landfall.
Hurricane Irma is pushing next week's Tampa Bay Rays-New York Yankees series from Florida to New York — but it will not be played in the Bronx.
Citi Field will host the three-game set next Monday-Wednesday, with Tampa Bay serving as the home team in the New York Mets' stadium, the Rays announced on Friday.
The Monday and Tuesday games will start at 19:10 local time, and the Wednesday game will get underway at 13:10.
"After much consideration, our games against the Yankees will be moved to Citi Field as Hurricane Irma approaches Florida," Rays president Brian Auld said in a release. "We are grateful to the Mets for opening their doors to us. We are most concerned with the safety of our fans, our families, friends and neighbours."
Florida is under a state of emergency with the category four Irma set to make landfall near Miami early on Sunday.
The massive storm is expected to continue up the centre of the state over the course of the day, maintaining hurricane-force winds along the way.
The Rays are in Boston to face the Red Sox this weekend and the Yankees are at the Texas Rangers.
Baltimore had reportedly been under consideration to host the Rays-Yankees series, but according to reports, Citi Field ultimately was the choice because only the Rays would need to find hotel rooms for their entire traveling party.
The series in Queens will come two weeks after the Rays' Tropicana Field hosted the Houston Astros and Rangers as Houston absorbed the impact of Hurricane Harvey.