ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rays start the 2019 regular season this week as the team begins its push to make the playoffs for the first time in six years.
First pitch between the Rays and the Houston Astros is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET Thursday at Tropicana Field. The Rays-Astros game is one of 15 MLB games scheduled for Opening Day.
A pair of Cy Young winners get the starting nods for each team as Tampa Bay's Blake Snell takes the mound against Houston's Justin Verlander.
How to watch Opening Day
TV: Fox Sports Sun, AT&T SportsNet
Radio: WDAE on 95.3 FM and 620 AM
Tickets: Fans can still purchase tickets starting at $45 from MLB. Tickets are also available on third-party websites like StubHub, Vivid Seats and SeatGeek.
What happened during the Rays offseason?
Rays lock up Snell through 2023
The Rays signed the Cy Young award-winning pitcher to a five-year, $50 million contract. The deal extends the 2018 American League Cy Young Award winner's contract through the 2023 season, which would have been his first year of free agency.
It's the largest contract in MLB history awarded to a pitcher before reaching arbitration. However, Snell is drastically underpaid compared to other Cy Young award winners.
Last season, the left-hander went 21-5 with a 1.89 ERA and 221 strikeouts over 31 starts.
Rays sign Charlie Morton
All-Star pitcher Charlie Morton has reached a two-year deal worth $30 million with the Tampa Bay Rays.
The 35-year-old pitcher is expected to shore up Tampa Bay’s starting staff.
Updates to Tropicana Field
The Tampa Bay Rays announced major renovations to Tropicana Field, including the closure of the upper-deck level. The reconfiguration of the ballpark will eliminate the upper-deck 300 level and decrease Tropicana Field’s capacity to an estimated 25,000-26,000 fans.
The team is still deciding on tinting the top of Tropicana Field’s roof blue during games. The team thought it might make it easier to see fly balls.
Tropicana Field’s concessions, team stores, box office and all other points-of-sale will go cash-free in 2019. It makes Tropicana Field the first cash-free sports venue in North America.
Stadium saga continues
Plans to build a stadium in the Ybor City area of Tampa fell through at the end of 2018.
The announcement not to build an $892 million stadium in Hillsborough County effectively locks the Rays into their lease at Tropicana Field, which doesn't expire until 2027.
Tommy Pham says Rays have "really no fan base at all"
Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Tommy Pham had harsh words on the team’s lack of fan support in a radio interview with SiriusXM in December.
Pham suggested a relocation from St. Petersburg’s Tropicana Field could ignite the franchise either in a new stadium in the Tampa Bay area or in a new city.
The Rays had the second lowest home attendance for the 2018 MLB regular season.
Pham, 31, hit a career-best. 343 in 39 games in 2018 after being traded to Tampa in July from St. Louis.
Mark Bergin is a journalist with 10News WTSP. Like him on Facebook and follow him on Twitter and Instagram. You can also email him at mbergin@wtsp.com.
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