Houston Astros Success at Night Makes Wild Card Scheduling Frustrating

The Houston Astros have been great at night this season, which makes their daytime MLB Wild Card round scheduling frustrating for the team.

Oct 1, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros second base Jose Altuve (27) reacts after striking out against the Detroit Tigers in game one of the Wild Card round for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Minute Maid Park. / Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

The Houston Astros have been great at night, making the MLB's postseason scheduling decision that much more frustrating for them.

Upon the conclusion of the regular season, Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller put together a recap list of winners, losers and trends. In it, he noticed a difference that could play a role in the Wild Card round.

"Two years ago, the Astros were a day-game juggernaut, going 43-13 during the first six months of their World Series journey," said Miller. "This year's team was a different story, though, posting a losing record (28-29) in day games and winning the AL West mostly at night (60-44)."

All games against the Detroit Tigers that take place this week will be played at 1:30 pm local time in Houston. That obviously is not ideal for a team that is sub-.500 record during the day.

The Tigers, on the other hand, have a 40-36 record in the day. Not only have they done it more this season, but they've been able to do it at a more successful rate.

Detroit took the first win on Tuesday in a game that saw the Astros only able to bring one run across the plate. The offense got off to an incredibly slow start in this one.

The most obvious impact that it will have on the games is that it is will make the crucial home field advantage a bit less impactful.

Houston is 46-35 while at home, which means they relish the opportunity to play in front of their own fans. It was noticeably light in Minute Maid Park for the first game of the series.

That's no fault to the fans, though, as a mid-week 1:30 pm start is hard to accommodate for on short notice. Work, school and other responsibilities get in the way of getting to the park.

Hunter Brown, who will take the mound in a must-win game two for the Astros, has played much worse in day starts.

Over 10 games, he has a 5.19 ETA and allows batters to put up a .289/.354/.393 slashing line. That's over a .100 increase in OPS over night starts.

Obviously, the time of day isn't the only excuse that can be offered for a poor performance, but rotuine certainly plays a factor in the sport of baseball.

Houston will need to overcome their weakness fast if they want to take another run deep into the postseason.