The Houston Astros, down 1-0 in the best-of-three Wild Card Series against the White Sox, are not only battling the opposition right about now, but also their own fans. 

During the course of the Astros’ 6-3 loss to Chicago in Game 1, the hosts struggled early. They were down 3-0 in the second inning, and by the fifth inning Houston trailed 5-0. As the runs piled up, the crowd at Daikin Park on more than one occasion confronted Astros players with loud and vigorous rounds of booing. Adding to the dubious energy for Game 1 was that the crowd was a relatively sparse one by postseason standards. The announced attendance for Game 1 was 34,011 versus a capacity of 40,963. 

The lack of support — and even the anti-support, if you will — was not lost on Astros players. “I’m not going to lie to you, I was pretty pissed off in the dugout when I came in, about the boos,” reliever Bennett Sousa said after the game, via the Athletic. “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.”

“It’s extremely frustrating as a home player,” veteran first baseman Christian Walker said, also via the Athletic. “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.”

The Astros this season sneaked into the postseason with an 81-81 record during the regular season — the worst mark ever for a team making the playoffs in a full MLB season — and a run differential solidly in negative territory. However, Astros fans have high standards in place after a run that saw them win a pair of World Series titles and make it at least as far as the ALCS in seven straight seasons, a streak that ended in 2023. In the here and now, though, the Astros have seen their regular-season win total decline four years in a row. As well, the Astros have now lost eight straight home playoff games. 

In any playoff series, especially a best-of-three, fortunes can change swiftly. The Astros, now on the verge of elimination, badly need such a reversal, lest things get even uglier between Houston players and the fans they seem to be losing.