The Houston Astros lost Game 1 of their Wild Card series to the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday, 6-3. It was a game that wasn’t even as close as the final score indicated, with the White Sox jumping out to an early lead that grew to 5-0 in the fifth inning.
The crowd of 34,011 at Daikin Park, 7,157 under capacity despite the stakes of a postseason game, was so frustrated with the home team’s lack of production that it rained boos down on the Astros, a rarity for the Houston faithful.
After the game, some of the players in Houston’s clubhouse reacted to the boos.
“The fans here are definitely spoiled with a lot of ALCS and World Series runs, and we have to earn that right to bring this team back to that position,” reliever Bennett Sousa, who gave up an earned run on Tuesday in one inning of work, said.
“That being said, when this team was in their first (playoff) series 10 years ago, Minute Maid Park was probably packed. It makes a big difference. If we were in Chicago, it’d probably be loud as sh*t.”
Tuesday’s loss extended Houston’s postseason losing streak at home to eight games, a far cry from the teams that competed for pennants every season under managers A.J. Hinch and Dusty Baker just a handful of years ago. Still, Sousa feels that everyone in Houston’s clubhouse feels that it has enough to compete this postseason, and that the support of the fans is a crucial part of succeeding.
“As a team and as a staff, we know how we feel about our guys. And if that’s felt differently from the outside — that’s OK. We can live with that,” Sousa said. “But as a team, we know that we lay it on the line every day. We’ve been working our ass off. We’ve been playing hard. We got in the playoffs. We just really need the support of our fans.”
First baseman Christian Walker was also disappointed in the reception the team received from its fans.
“It’s extremely frustrating as a home player,” Walker said. “We’re here, playing at home; we need cheers. We need energy. We don’t need boos. What purpose does that serve in that moment? Whatever fans are feeling, we’re feeling it tenfold. We’re the ones out there. We’re the ones in the fight. We worked our butts off this whole season to put ourselves in this spot, and for guys to get booed, it’s frustrating.”
Sousa was candid about how the boos on Tuesday made him feel.
“I’m not going to lie to you, I was pretty pissed off in the dugout when I came in, about the boos,” Sousa said. “This team has laid a lot on the line to be in this position to give the fans a playoff game — a playoff series. We want their support.”
On Wednesday, Ace Hunter Brown will take the mound with Houston’s back against the wall in a win-or-go-home Game 2 for the Astros, and Walker believes the team can turn things around.
“It’s motivating for the wrong reasons,” Walker said of being booed. “But I think we can come together and play for the right reasons and get this thing back on track and get ourselves in a good spot.”
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.