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The Texas Rangers and Tampa Bay Rays played Game 1 of their American League Wild Card Series in front of a crowd so sparse that such low attendance hasn’t been seen in over a century.
According to The Athletic’s Tyler Kepner, Tuesday’s attendance of 19,704 at Tropicana Field is the lowest for a postseason game since 1919.
Front Office Sports @FOS
Official attendance for today’s Rangers-Rays game: 19,704.
That’s the lowest for an MLB postseason game since 1919.
(h/t @TylerKepner)
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The Rays, who were wearing throwback Devil Rays jerseys from 1998-2000, lost the game 4-0 in front of their meager home crowd. It was a sloppy game that saw Tampa Bay record four errors on its way to its sixth straight postseason loss dating back to 2021.
The Rangers got a strong outing from starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery, who threw seven shutout innings while allowing six hits and no walks with five strikeouts. Texas relievers Aroldis Chapman and Jose Leclerc didn’t allow a hit over the final two innings.
The paltry fan attendance is definitely surprising for a playoff game, and it’s somewhat understandable for a mid-day, mid-week game. However, the Rays have struggled to draw local interest throughout the 2023 season, ranking 27th in MLB with an average attendance of 17,781.
While Tampa Bay is on the verge of elimination, it has the advantage of hosting Game 2 on Wednesday as well. The team will surely need support from its fans if it hopes to keep its season alive.
The Rays will be sending Zach Eflin to the mound, while the Rangers pegged Nathan Eovaldi as their starter in their potential close-out game. It remains to be seen if Wednesday’s game will draw a better crowd for Tampa Bay.
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