The Detroit Tigers canceled their first home spring training game since 2016 on Monday because of rain that was forecast to continue throughout the day.
Detroit was supposed to play Toronto in Lakeland, Florida, but the game was called off several hours before the scheduled first pitch at 1:05 p.m. EST.
Inclement weather also led to the cancellation of Houston's game against Miami in West Palm Beach.
There were also rainy conditions Monday at other Grapefruit League sites in Florida, including Fort Myers and Sarasota, where teams had preemptively altered the scheduled start of games in hopes of playing later in the afternoon.
The Monday games pushed back three hours to 4:05 p.m. EST were the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox in Fort Myers; and the Atlanta Braves hosting the Baltimore Orioles in Sarasota. Those schedule changes were announced Sunday.
Weather issues during spring training are a reminder to the Tampa Bay Rays of what they may have to deal with when having to play their regular-season home games outside this season.
The Rays will play their games this season at Tampa’s Steinbrenner Field, the spring training base of the Yankees. Hurricane Milton ripped the roof off St. Petersburg’s Tropicana Field on Oct. 9, leaving the Rays’ usual home stadium unusable for at least 2025.
Steinbrenner Field, which has about 11,000 seats, is exposed to weather, unlike the Trop. Florida summers are known for thunderstorms in the afternoon and early evening, and that even happens sometimes during spring training.
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