Astros Pitcher 'Pretty Pissed Off' by Fans' Boos During Game 1 Loss to White Sox in MLB Playoffs

In the aftermath of their 6-3 loss to the Chicago White Sox in Game 1 of the American League Wild Card series on Tuesday, members of the Houston Astros aired some of their frustration at the home fans for greeting them with boos at one point.

Astros reliever Bennett Sousa told reporters after the game he is "pretty pissed off" when the fans began booing them in the seventh inning.

Sousa was also just generally unhappy with the apparent apathy from the hometown crowd throughout the game:

"The fans here are definitely spoiled with a lot of ALCS and World Series runs, and we have to earn that right to bring this team back to that position. That being said, when this team was in their first (playoff) series 10 years ago, Minute Maid Park was probably packed. It makes a big difference. If we were in Chicago, it'd probably be loud as s--t."

White Sox vs. Astros (09/29/2026)

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Sousa later apologized on Wednesday.

"I'm sorry for the comments I made about our fanbase. Anyone that knows me knows how much I care about this organization, this city and our fans," Sousa said before Game 2, per The Athletic's Chandler Rome.

"This team took me in four years ago when I was at my lowest, and they've seen me at my highest. I feel really bad about last night. One thing I would love for people to know is no matter how bad they feel about me or anything like that, that I'm feeling it 10 times worse."

He added: "I personally was emotional after an emotional game and was emotional in the wrong way. It needs to be about me there and look inside and know it's not about the fans. It's about me. I need to step it up for this team. I will today. Turn the page to today, hopefully win today and keep this thing rolling."

One part of Sousa's complaint was around the fact Daikin Park wasn't sold out for this game. The announced crowd was 34,011, nearly 7,000 below the capacity of 40,963.

Sam Gonzalez Kelly of the Houston Chronicle noted how little fan interest there seemed to be around the city.

There are any number of reasons for the low attendance figure for a playoff game. First pitch was at 4:10 p.m. local time on a Tuesday afternoon for a matchup that was only set on Sunday evening.

Perhaps the biggest issue, though, is this Astros team has a case as the worst playoff team in MLB history. Their 81 wins in the regular season are the fewest in a 162-game season for a team that made the postseason.

Houston's minus-32 run differential is the third-worst by a playoff team in a 162-game season, ahead of only the 2005 San Diego Padres (minus-42) and 2023 Miami Marlins (minus-57).

Last season was the unofficial end of the Astros' near-dynastic run when they missed the playoffs for the first time since 2016. During the eight seasons from 2017 to '24, they played in the ALCS seven times, world Series four times and won two championships.

Sousa and other Astros players are certainly right to be unhappy that fans don't seem eager to support this group in a playoff game, but they also have to give them a reason to be excited about watching them play.

We will see if the mood in Daikin Park changes on Wednesday when the Astros look to keep their season alive in Game 2 against the White Sox.