Oakland A's Opening Day Hosting Sellout Crowd Despite Possiblity of Rain

The Oakland A's are set to play their Opening Day game of the 2014 season tonight against the Cleveland Indians with a sellout crowd and while rain is forecast, the team is hopeful that history will be on its side, an A's spokesman said. 
 
The A's ballpark, O.co Coliseum, has not had a rainout during a regular season game for about the last 15 years, according to A's spokesman Bob Rose. 
 
The National Weather Service reported today there is a 100 percent chance of rain for the Oakland area today, with the possibility of a thunderstorm with small hail and gusty winds tonight. 
 
The infield at O.co. has been covered since Saturday, when an exhibition game between the A's and the San Francisco Giants was canceled due to rain, according to Rose. 
 
For tonight's season opener, with the first pitch by A's starting pitcher Sonny Gray expected at 7:05 p.m., the A's have sold out their stadium's approximately 35,000 seats, Rose said. On the mound for the Indians tonight will be Justin Masterson, according to mlb.com. 
 
The opening ceremony is to feature Matt King, an American country music signer from North Carolina, singing the National Anthem and a color guard from Travis Air Force Base will bear the flags, followed by some fireworks. King will also sing "God Bless America" during the opener, Ross said. 
 
Rickey Henderson, a former A's outfielder who holds Major League Baseball records for career stolen bases and runs scored and was inducted in the league's Hall of Fame in 2009, will throw out the ceremonial first pitch. 
 
Tonight's scheduled game is the first of a three-game series for the A's against the Indians. The Giants are in Phoenix tonight at 6:40 p.m. Pacific Standard Time against the Arizona Diamondbacks for a three-game series, followed by a three-game set against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Los Angeles before Opening Day at AT&T Park on April 8 against the Diamondbacks. 
 
A's fans who bought tickets to Saturday's game got rain checks, or free passes, to a future A's regular season game, according to the team's website athletics.com.

—By Bay City News

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