09/29/26 04:54:00
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09/29 16:52 CDT Sparse crowd, empty seats greet .500 Astros for wild-card
opener vs White Sox
Sparse crowd, empty seats greet .500 Astros for wild-card opener vs White Sox
By KRISTIE RIEKEN
AP Sports Writer
HOUSTON (AP) --- The crowd at Daikin Park was surprisingly sparse as the
Houston Astros --- baseball's first division winner with a .500 or worse record
--- opened their Wild Card Series against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday.
Large swaths of seats, especially in the upper deck, sat empty while
right-hander AJ Blumbaugh delivered the game's first pitch at 4:10 p.m.
The bottom two levels were much more filled than the upper deck, but many seats
in the lower two decks were also empty.
Houston returned to the playoffs after missing out last year despite finishing
81-81. It's the first time a team made the postseason without a winning record
in a non-shortened season.
All those empty seats are a rare sight in a ballpark that is normally packed
for the postseason.
The Astros averaged 30,519 fans per game during the regular season, which
ranked 14th in the majors.
Houston fought through an injury-plagued season to reach the playoffs for the
ninth time in 10 years. The Astros reached the American League Championship
Series seven straight times from 2017-23 and advanced to the World Series four
times, winning championships in 2017 and 2022.
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