HOUSTON — The Astros walked into Game 2 of the American League Wild Card Series needing more than a clean box score. After Tuesday’s 6-3 loss to the White Sox, the club also needed to reconnect with a Daikin Park crowd that voiced its displeasure through a difficult October night.
A rough home October continues
Houston’s Game 1 defeat became its eighth straight postseason loss at Daikin Park, extending a home skid that has followed the club across three playoff trips. The Astros had not won a postseason game in their own ballpark since they beat the Twins in Game 1 of the 2023 AL Division Series.
- Houston dropped all four home games against the Rangers in the 2023 AL Championship Series.
- The Tigers swept the Astros in the 2024 Wild Card Series, including the games in Houston.
- The club finished 39-42 at home during this regular season.
- Tuesday’s announced crowd was 34,011, a notably light turnout for a Houston postseason game during a stretch in which the team has reached the playoffs nine times in 10 years.
The Astros earned this October berth the hard way. They climbed out of a 20-31 start, finished 81-81, and did not secure the AL West until Game 162 on Sunday.
Boos followed the White Sox rally
The frustration rose early Tuesday. Reliever Bryan King was booed as he left in the second inning after every one of the five White Sox hitters he faced reached base. Left-hander Bennett Sousa later heard the same response in the seventh, when two wild pitches included one that brought home a run.
Manager Joe Espada said before Game 2 that he understood why the stands reacted as they did, while also stressing how important the home crowd remains to the club.
“I can see it from both perspectives,” Espada said. “There is frustration, and players and fans are entitled to show their feelings. But our players care about these fans. We respect them, we need them, and we draw energy from them.”
Espada said he had addressed the matter with the clubhouse, without identifying individual players. Sousa and first baseman Christian Walker had spoken publicly about the boos after the Game 1 loss.
Espada asks players to keep the focus forward
For Espada, the response is not to deny the moment but to play through it with composure. He said the players have been urged to recognize that the fans are pulling for them, even when disappointment spills into the noise of a postseason crowd.
“We want the fans to be proud,” Espada said. “I’ve been around here nearly a decade, and I understand it. I get booed, too. That comes with the job.”
Espada described regular conversations with supporters around Houston, whether at the grocery store or while dropping his children off at school, and said he values those connections. His message to the roster was to put Tuesday behind them and prepare for the next game.
Yordan Alvarez, speaking through an interpreter, said the club expected the crowd’s reaction after failing to deliver the result Houston wanted.
“We’re disappointed that we couldn’t give them the win we wanted,” Alvarez said. “But we’ll go out there and try to give them the victory they deserve.”
Game 2 is the immediate answer
The Astros get their chance to answer on the field in Game 2 of the AL Wild Card Series. First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m. ET and 4 p.m. CT, with Peacock and NBCSN carrying the game.
