It appears the Houston Astros aren't interested in picking a fight with their fans after all.
Reliever Bennett Sousa apologized in an interview with The Athletic on Wednesday for comments Tuesday in which he called Astros fans "spoiled" and criticized attendance for Game 1's 6-3 loss to the Chicago White Sox.
“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.
“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.”
Sousa was subjected to boos from the crowd of 34,011 — well under Daikin Park's capacity of 40,963 — after spiking two breaking pitches in the seventh inning during the loss.
"I’m not going to lie to you, I was pretty pissed off in the dugout when I came in, about the boos. 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," Sousa said after 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—.”
The empty seats were a rare sight in a stadium that is normally packed for the post-season. Fans who did show up also rained boos down on the Astros in the first and second innings as they fell behind 3-0.
First baseman Christian Walker said the empty seats were "extremely frustrating."
"We’re here, playing at home; we need cheers," Walker told The Athletic. "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."
Houston returned to the playoffs after missing out last year despite finishing 81-81. It's the first time a team made the post-season without a winning record in a non-shortened season.
The Astros averaged 30,519 fans per game during the regular season, which ranked 14th in the majors.
--with files from The Associated Press
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