Atlanta and Houston, the latest cities struggling to fill their parks for afternoon playoff games

Austin Riley delivered the first defining moment of Major League Baseball’s playoffs Tuesday, hitting a three-run homer in the eighth inning that put the Atlanta Braves past the Philadelphia Phillies. for a 5-3 victory.

It was an electric scene for fans at Truist Park – at least for those who decided to show up.

There were a notable number of empty seats in Atlanta and Houston for daytime games during this week’s Wild Card Series, with the Braves drawing 30,127 fans for Tuesday’s opener which kicked off at 2 p.m. local time, well below the capacity of 41,108. Astros announced 34,011 fans were in attendance Tuesday at 4 p.m. is the first game at Daikin Park, also well below its 41,168-seat limit.

This is not the first time this has happened.

Since MLB permanently expanded the postseason to a 12-team bracket in 2022, only six of the Wild Card Series’ 26 afternoon games through Tuesday have reached or exceeded stadium capacity. Seven games failed to even reach 85% capacity. Tuesday’s Braves-Phillies game was 73.2% sold out, which is the lowest since the playoff expansion, according to a Sportradar study.

On Wednesday, the attendance was slightly better. Game 2 of the Braves-Phillies series drew 37,150 fans, while Game 2 of the White Sox-Astros game had 36,015 fans.

The main problem with day matches is obvious: it is difficult for fans to attend day matches during the week – especially in late September and October – because people have to work and children are back at school. It doesn’t help that these game times are announced with only a few days’ notice.

Still, the atmosphere is far from ideal for some of the most important competitions of the year.

Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm ignored the small crowds before Wednesday’s game, saying his team just wanted to win games and advance.

“I don’t think anyone on our team really focuses on how many people show up here,” Bohm said. “It’s just kind of – I think, like you said, it’s a 2 p.m. game in the middle of the week, so I think that might have something to do with it.

“That doesn’t take away from what’s happening on the ground and what’s at stake in all of this in our minds.”

All three ALWCS games in Cleveland last year between the Guardians and Detroit Tigers started at 1:08 p.m. and none drew more than 30,000 fans. The Tampa Bay Rays had just 19,704 for a 2023 ALWCS opener against Texas that started at 3:08 p.m., the lowest attendance for a non-COVID MLB playoff game since the 1919 World Series.

MLB declined to comment on attendance figures, but the league intentionally spreads its wild-card games throughout the day in order to have its own television window and capture the largest possible audience. BNC pays the league about $200 million a year to host “Sunday Night Baseball” and the Wild Card Series as part of a three-year deal reached last November.

Astros fans who attended Tuesday’s game were in a bad mood, showering the team with boos as they fell behind 5-0 in the fifth inning en route to a 6-3 loss. Astros manager Joe Espada said he understood fans’ frustration, but was hoping for a better atmosphere Wednesday.

“I want our fans to know that we love them and we need them,” Espada said. “They’re part of what we’re trying to accomplish here. They’re part of our family.”

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AP Sports Writers Charles Odum in Atlanta and Kristie Rieken in Houston contributed to this story.

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