ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) The mother of Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Josh Lowe and Texas Rangers first baseman Nathaniel Lowe will not make the trip to Tropicana Field for this week’s AL Wild Card Series featuring her sons because she is battling cancer and undergoing chemotherapy.

Younger brother Josh said he called his mother, Wendy, on Monday to ask if she would mind him discussing her situation publicly in advance of the start of the best-of-three matchup that begins Tuesday.

“She’s actually battling cancer, so she’s going through chemo right now. She won’t be able to make it, but I asked her if it was OK if I said something, and she said yes because the more people that know, the more prayers that could be had for her,” the 25-year-old outfielder said.