Astros Boo Birds
I was at the game yesterday. We looked like the 2026 Astros and not the Astros of this past weekend. The Astros boo birds spoke up in the first inning. See this from Yahoo Sports:
The Houston Astros looked very much like a team that limped its way to a division title during their 6-3 loss to the Chicago White Sox in Game 1 of the wild-card round Tuesday. Houston allowed five runs before getting on the board, and failed to mount a comeback against a White Sox team that pounded out 11 hits.
To make matters worse for Houston, a handful of the runs given up by the team were self-inflicted. Early walks resulted in the White Sox scoring their first run, a hit-by-pitch allowed the team to pick up an extra run in the second inning, a lead-off walk came around to score in the fifth and a wild pitch allowed the final run to come home in the seventh.
After that last mistake, Astros fans let the team know its play was unacceptable. Boos rained down on the team as it walked back into the dugout after the inning was over.
That didn’t sit well with multiple Astros players after the game. First baseman Christian Walker took issue with being booed at home, calling it “extremely frustrating,” per The Athletic.
“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.”
Walker finished the contest 0-for-2 with two walks. He was the only Astros hitter to reach base multiple times in the loss.
Reliever Bennett Sousa — the player responsible for the wild pitch that allowed the White Sox to tack on another run in the seventh inning — said he was “pretty pissed off” to hear boos when he got back to the dugout.
“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.”
Those comments are … probably not going to sit well with Astros fans. While the team made the playoffs, it wasn’t a particularly enjoyable watch for fans. The team limped to the finish line in September, going 11-13, barely beating out the Texas Rangers for the American League West title and nearly finishing with a sub-.500 record.
There were a lot of empty seats at the game yesterday. The Astros announced attendance of 34,011. It didn’t look like 34,000.
I don’t boo at games. Not at the Astros, not at the opposing team, not at the umpires. I heard boos throughout the game yesterday. I get why the fans were booing. I also get why some of the Astros players were frustrated.
This hasn’t been the best of seasons. For the most part, the fans have been supportive. The team needs to play better baseball.
If we play today like we played yesterday, it will be adios time.
Saint Arnold sold at playoff prices yesterday. Now that is boo worthy.
Yesterday, my nephew David got the foul ball in the featured photo. Nice.
Game 2 of the Wild Card Series has a 4 pm start today.