"It’s really nice to actually see people here."

It took the first two innings of action and a bucket of Rays runs, but 32,251 baseball fans came through Monday to fill Tropicana Field for Game 3 of the American League Division Series against the Astros.

“The crowd was tremendous,” said Rays manager Kevin Cash. “Thank the bay area fans. It was awesome.”

The Rays were buried in a 2-0 hole in the series. The deficit, along with an inconveniently scheduled 1:05 p.m. first pitch, did little to set Rays fans up for success.

Despite the hurdles, the crowd persisted.

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