The team said fewer than 500 seats remain.
DETROIT — It was a crisp 42 degrees at Comerica Park on Wednesday afternoon for the Detroit Tigers’ final workout of the preseason.
But it was dry. On Thursday, Opening Day, the Tigers might not be so lucky.
Assuming the rain holds off, the Tigers are expecting a sell-out or very close to it for their opener against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Tigers spokesman Ron Colangelo said fewer than 500 seats remain. That figure does not include standing-room only tickets or tickets returned from the visiting team, which will be on sale only at the box office.
The Tigers have a built-in day off on Friday, but they’re likely to wait as long as possible before canceling Tuesday’s game. The Cincinnati Reds took the opposite approach, postponing their game 24 hours in advance.
Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said the Tigers won’t officially set their roster until Thursday morning, but there were no signs that any changes were imminent .
«We’re still talking about our roster, still trying to make sure we get it right. We still have until tomorrow to do it,» Gardenhire said.
Opening Day starter Jordan Zimmermann was unfazed by the possibility of a rain-out.
«I’ll just bump everything back a day,» he said.
The Tigers hope it doesn’t come to that.
«It’s baseball,» Gardenhire said. «You tell the players, ‘You know how many people will be sitting in the stands wishing they could be doing what we’re doing, who would love to be on the field, running around and catching baseballs? We’re here to thrill them. We’re very lucky people to have this uniform.»
