Having dropped the first game of their Wild Card series against the Chicago White Sox yesterday, the Houston Astros are one defeat away from elimination and from tying those self-same White Sox for one of the longest home postseason losing streaks in Major League Baseball history.
Tuesday’s 6-3 loss at Daikin Park extended Houston’s home playoff losing streak to eight games. Another defeat would take that total to nine, matching the White Sox’s run of home postseason losses between 1959 and 2000.
Although it would not equal the all-time record – the Minnesota Twins lost 13 consecutive home postseason games between 2002 and 2020 – the Astros’ continued exercise in futility at what is supposed to be their advantage is beyond frustrating. Between 2017 and 2022, they made four World Series appearances, winning two of them. Since then, though, the former fortress has turned into a folly.
Astros Not What They Were
Houston’s immediate concern, of course, is avoiding another early exit. The White Sox lead the best-of-three Wild Card Series 1-0, leaving the Astros needing consecutive victories to advance, one of which will be at home. Hunter Brown will start Game 2 after Houston used eight pitchers in an unsuccessful bullpen game to open the series. Even though Game 2 will be on the road, however, the season will end if the cursed streak is not broken.
The losing streak began during the 2023 American League Division Series against the aforementioned Twins. Houston won the opener 6-4 on October 7, but that remains its most recent home postseason victory. The Twins won Game 2, although the Astros subsequently won both games in Minnesota to advance.
This distinction between home and road results would however prove decisive in the following round. Houston lost all four home games against the Texas Rangers in the 2023 American League Championship Series while winning all three games in Arlington. The Rangers advanced by winning Games 6 and 7 in Houston. They should not be losing two consecutive home deciders in this way, but it happened, and those four defeats, added to the loss against Minnesota, left the Astros with five consecutive home playoff losses at the end of 2023. Their success away from home kept that run from ending their postseason earlier, but it could not compensate for losing every home game in a seven-game series.
Eight Games, Three Years
A new season brought old results, as the Detroit Tigers won both games of the 2024 Wild Card Series in Houston, extending the Astro’s futility streak to seven. The Astros missed the playoffs in 2025, so Tuesday’s return to postseason baseball was also their first opportunity to end the run. Instead, Chicago added an eighth defeat, and the streak now covers three postseason appearances, three different opponents before this week and two different rounds.
The Astros reached this year’s playoffs with an 81-81 record, clinching the American League West on the final day of the regular season. The White Sox finished with a better record 84-78, but the Astros’ division title gave them home advantage and the right to host the entire Wild Card Series. Normally, this would be a good thing. But that arrangement means Houston cannot rely on another road recovery.
Brown gives Houston a more conventional starting option for Game 2. He will pitch on full rest, with Hayden Wesneski available to start a potential third game. The Astros therefore have a route through the series without repeating their opening-game pitching arrangement. Those are the two starters they would want in that role.
While one win would end the home losing streak and keep their season alive, it would not complete the recovery. Houston would still need to beat Chicago again to reach the Division Series. Both Brown and Wesneski must deliver; another loss would conclude the Astros’ season, and another Game 3 loss would extend the home streak to nine and leave their last playoff victory in Houston almost three years behind them. At some point, it just becomes embarrassing.
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