It was Game 1 of the American League Wild Card Series on Tuesday, September 30, with the Astros facing the Chicago White Sox at Daikin Park, and as early as the first inning, the boos were raining down. When opening pitchers AJ Blubaugh and Bryan King combined to give up three runs right out of the gate, the crowd erupted, with King getting clapped and booed even louder as he walked off the mound. This wasn’t just a tough loss for Houston, who fell 6-3, it was a moment where the fans’ frustration boiled over, and at least one player felt every bit of it.
The Playoff Energy That Just Wasn’t There
You go to a playoff game, your first one ever, and you expect the place to be absolutely electric, right? But that wasn’t the vibe for most of Game 1. People were on their phones, chatting, even getting another El Tiempo marg during critical moments. I was there, chanting “M-V-P! M-V-P!” when presumptive American League MVP Yordan Alvarez came up to the plate with Cam Smith on third and two outs, hoping to spark something. At first, it was just a few of us, then a guy in a Jimmy Wynn Colt .45’s jersey joined, and finally, the whole ballpark got into it. For a brief, glorious moment, it felt like a playoff game should. And then Alvarez promptly grounded out, ending the inning. It was one of the few truly exciting moments in what turned into a total slog.
The Astros, after all, made the postseason with an 81-81 record, the worst mark for any team to make the playoffs in MLB’s divisional era. You’d think that a fresh start, a 0-0 slate, would mean catharsis and pure joy. But for much of the game, waving the “K” sign for strikeouts felt like a solo mission, and there were empty seats in the upper section. The energy just wasn’t there, and that was a real letdown, even if the experience was still fun.
When Your Own Crowd Lets You Have It
While it was a struggle to get “M-V-P” chants going for a player having one of the greatest seasons in Astros history, the boos and jeers were flowing freely. It wasn’t just the early pitching struggles; in the seventh inning, lefty Bennett Sousa spiked back-to-back wild pitches, with one allowing the White Sox to score. The crowd absolutely let him have it. Honestly, I did too! It was a frustrating night. A group of White Sox fans behind me even commented that they would never boo their own team, which just highlights how strange the atmosphere was for an Astros playoff game.
This was not what anyone expected from a team that had “laid a lot on the line” to get to this position, to give their fans a playoff game, a playoff series.
Bennett Sousa: “I Was Pretty Pissed Off”
The players felt the sting of the crowd’s reaction, too. Bennett Sousa didn’t mince words after the game, telling The Athletic’s Chandler Rome, “I’m not going to lie to you, I was pretty pissed off in the dugout when I came in, about the boos.” He emphasized that the team had sacrificed a lot to make it this far, saying, “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.”
Sousa’s frustration is understandable. As Rome pointed out, Astros fans have grown “used to the extraordinary” over the past decade of Houston baseball, even “eking out” an AL West title this season. But a playoff game, regardless of the regular season record, should still be about rallying together. The question now is how this Astros squad, heading into the rest of the Wild Card Series after a tough 6-3 loss and a frustrating home crowd, will respond. What’s next for a team fighting to stay alive when their own park is telling them they aren’t good enough?
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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