Fans waiting for free Rays tickets at Trop

The last regular-season home game for the playoff-bound Tampa Bay Rays is tonight, and the organization's plan to give away 20,000 free tickets drew fans to Tropicana Field this morning.

A few faithful waited outside the gates just before noon today. The freebies weren't to be handed out until 4:45 p.m. - one per person and first come, first served.

The Rays play the Baltimore Orioles, and game time is 7:10 p.m.

The tickets will be at all of the stadium gates, not the box office, and fans will get them as they enter. Tickets are available for the press level, baseline box, loge box, outfield, upper box and upper reserved.

Fans who have purchased tickets in those locations can exchange their tickets at guest services for a Lower Box seat when they get to the stadium.

Among the first in line were Rays fans Maria Amato and Eric Stevens, who had plunked themselves down in lawn chairs at 10 a.m., braced for the nearly seven-hour wait.

The spectacle of a sea of empty blue seats over the past few games has been embarrassing, Amato said.

"It's frustrating that in order to fill up the stadium," she said, "we have to give things away."

Stevens said he's a big Rays fan, and he and Amato have attended several games this season.

"I love the Rays," he said, urging fans to show up to fill up the house tonight for the last home game before playoffs begin next week.

He said the stadium should be filled tonight "whether tickets are free or not. People should be here."

The Rays clinched a postseason berth Tuesday, when they defeated the Orioles, 5-0, as a crowd of 17,891 watched.

The night before, the Rays lost 4-0 to the Orioles in front of a crowd of 12,446. After the game, third baseman Evan Longoria said the sparse attendance was "devastating" for game in which the team could clinch a playoff spot. Pitcher David Price wrote the attendance was "embarrassing" on Twitter.

The players' comments created a stir locally and nationally, leading to today's ticket giveaway.