Texas Rangers face backlash as series with Houston moved to Florida

In the wake of Hurricane Harvey, the Houston Astros have moved their upcoming home games across the Gulf to Florida.

The Astros will play two "home" series at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, which is the home of the Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays will be on the road in Kansas City and Chicago while the Texas team takes up residence in their stadium.

The decision hasn't come without backlash, however -- though none is directed at the Astros.

The first of the Astros' two series in St. Petersburg will be against the Texas Rangers, a team based out of Arlington, Texas, in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The Rangers' home field is a good 250 miles northwest of the Astros' Minute Maid Park.

Initially, the Astros had asked the Rangers to swap these home games with a scheduled series in Arlington in September. The Rangers host the Astros from September 25-27, but the team declined to play those games in Houston as a switch for playing this week's series up North.

Jon Daniels, General Manager of the Rangers, reportedly said the swap would be unfair to Rangers fans who had already purchased tickets for the September games in Arlington.

Fans were quick to criticize the team's seeming unwillingness to help their fellow Texans.

After the games in Florida, the Astros will embark on a road trip to Seattle, Oakland and Anaheim before returning to Houston on September 15. The team will be away from Minute Maid Park for a total of 19 games (including a series that concluded in Anaheim on Sunday), though the six at Tropicana Field will count as "home" games.

The Astros and Rangers begin their series in St. Petersburg Tuesday night.

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