Astros, Rangers to travel to Dallas instead of Houston
HOUSTON -- The Houston Astros and Texas Rangers won't travel to Houston as planned after their games Sunday in California because of torrential floodwaters that have engulfed the city during Tropical Storm Harvey.
The Rangers had been scheduled to head to Houston after playing Oakland to await the start of a series with the Astros beginning Tuesday. Instead, they'll return to Dallas to await word on the status of their three-game series.
The Astros are in Anaheim and also will fly to Dallas while a decision is made on the series.
"We have been in continuous contact with the Astros and Major League Baseball regarding travel tonight and the status of this week's series," Rangers president and general manager Jon Daniels said. "We will continue to talk throughout the day to get updates on the situation."
The Rangers and Astros are the latest teams to change their travel plans because of the storm.The remnants of Tropical Storm Harvey sent devastating floods pouring into the nation's fourth-largest city Sunday, and theNational Weather Service forecast thatsome parts of Houston and its suburbs could receive as much as 50 inches of rain from the storm.
"The breadth and intensity of this rainfall is beyond anything experienced before,'' the National Weather Service said in a statement.
Washington Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon, a native of Houston, featured the skyline of his hometown on his Players Weekend cleats. He said several members of his and his financée's families experienced weather-related damage to their homes.
"I was going to do the Houston thing no matter what, you know, because you've got to represent your hometown," Rendon said after the Nats' 6-5 loss to the New York Mets. "Fortunately or unfortunately, the hurricane went through Houston kind of at the same exact time and so it kind of meant more. I've been calling my parents every morning to see how they're doing and trying to get through to all of our family if they've heard anything. It definitely means a lot and it's something more to play for, but knowing, like you said, it's on national television, maybe someone will see it and know we're thinking about them."
TheHouston Texansflew to Dallas after their preseason game Saturday in New Orleans instead of returning home and have said they'll stay there until conditions improve enough for them to come back to Houston.
The Texans are scheduled to host the Cowboys at NRG Stadium on Thursday, but that game could be in jeopardy with massive flooding in the city and rain continuing to fall.
The University of Houston football team went to Austin on Friday, practiced there Saturday and will resume practice Sunday on the University of Texas campus. No decision has yet to be made about the Cougars' season opener on Saturday at Texas-San Antonio, which is just about 80 miles from Austin.
