Why the Astros' wild-card series against the White Sox has become a fan-support fight
The White Sox lead the AL wild-card series 1-0 after a 6-3 win in Houston, and the Astros must win Game 2 to stay alive amid a row over boos and empty seats.
The Chicago White Sox beat the Houston Astros 6-3 in Game 1 of the AL wild-card series on Tuesday. That leaves Houston facing a must-win Game 2 at Daikin Park. The matchup is also drawing attention because of boos and a lot of empty seats at the opener.
What happened in Game 1
The Astros won the AL West at 81-81. That made them the first division winner with a .500 or worse record, according to ESPN. The White Sox finished 84-78 as the third wild-card team.
Houston started right-hander AJ Blubaugh in an unorthodox opening plan, and Chicago led 3-0 early. The White Sox bullpen then shut down the Astros' offense, according to SB Nation's recap. Chicago held on for the win.
The boos and the empty seats
The announced crowd was 34,011 in a park that holds 40,963. Large sections of the upper deck were empty. The Astros averaged 30,519 fans per game in the regular season, which ranked 14th in MLB.
Some fans booed as Houston fell behind in the first and second innings. Reliever Bennett Sousa was also booed after two spiked breaking pitches in the seventh.
First baseman Christian Walker told The Athletic the reaction was "extremely frustrating." He said: "We need cheers. We need energy. We don't need boos."
Sousa acknowledged that fans have been spoiled by deep playoff runs and that the team has to earn that support back. He also said he was upset in the dugout about the booing. ESPN reported that manager Joe Espada tried to defuse the tension afterward.
ESPN noted that MLB has struggled to fill some afternoon wild-card games before. Cleveland and Detroit drew under 30,000 for every game of last year's series. The Rays' 2023 wild-card opener drew 19,704, which was the lowest non-COVID postseason crowd since the 1919 World Series.
Game 2: what is at stake
Game 2 is scheduled for Wednesday at Daikin Park. Houston sends ace Hunter Brown (6-4, 3.19 ERA) to the mound. The White Sox counter with right-hander Sean Burke.
The series is best-of-three. If Chicago wins, it advances and takes its first postseason series win in 21 years, according to SB Nation. If Houston wins, the teams play a deciding Game 3.
Houston is also dealing with injuries. ESPN reports that Varsho had wrist surgery and is done for the season. The Astros have reached the playoffs in nine of the last 10 years. They won World Series titles in 2017 and 2022.
How to follow
ESPN, USA Today and SB Nation are running live updates and game threads. Check the final score and box score there once the game ends. Scores from a game in progress go out of date quickly.
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