Arguably more than any other sport, playoff baseball has more pressurized moments from start to finish, whether it’s a key hit, defensive play, managerial move or play that doesn’t show up in the box score.
Here are five of the key moments from the Houston Astros’ 6-3 loss to the Chicago White Sox in Game 1 of the American League wild-card series Tuesday at Daikin Park.
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1. King call goes royally wrong
Situation: No outs, bases empty, top of second inning
Score: White Sox 1, Astros 0
What happened: After he got the final out of the first inning, the Astros sent left-hander Bryan King out for the second. It proved to be a disaster, as he gave up consecutive singles and then hit No. 9 hitter Colson Montgomery to load the bases. Sam Antonacci then drilled a two-run single and Kyle Teel singled to re-load the bases, ending King’s day to boos as he walked off the mound.
What it meant: The Astros fell into an early multi-run hole that proved too big to overcome. King had struggled mightily since the All-Star break and was demoted to Triple-A. Using him in a playoff game was a risky call that went bad quickly.
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2. Costly error
Situation: No outs, runner on first, top of first inning
Score: White Sox 0, Astros 0
What happened: After issuing a leadoff walk to Antonacci, Astros opener AJ Blubaugh got Teel to hit a grounder to Christian Walker. The first baseman stepped on the bag but then bounced a throw to second that went into left field, allowing Antonacci to take third.
What it meant: Instead of the bases empty with two outs and a chance for Blubaugh to exit the inning unscathed, the White Sox had a runner on third with one out. After another walk from Blubaugh, Munetaka Murakami delivered a sacrifice fly to get Chicago on the board. Blubaugh then issued his third walk before he was pulled before finishing an inning.
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3. Last chance lost
Situation: One outs, runners on first and third, bottom of eighth inning
Score: White Sox 6, Astros 2
What happened: With one out, the Astros got consecutive singles from Jeremy Peña and Yordan Alvarez to put runners on first and third for the heart of the order. But reliever Grant Taylor struck out Isaac Paredes before Jose Altuve was safe at first on a grounder as third baseman Miguel Vargas‘ throw was off the bag for an error that scored a run. The call stood after Chicago challenged. Yainer Diaz then battled Taylor to a full count before striking out looking at a curveball to end the inning.
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What it meant: This was for all intents and purposes the Astros’ last gasp to get back into the game, with the tying run at the plate. For a free swinger like Diaz to take a called third strike was atypical.
4. Montgomery goes deep … very deep
Situation: No outs, bases empty, top of fourth inning
Score: White Sox 3, Astros 0
What happened: Colson Montgomery, who was dropped to the No. 9 spot after slumping to end the regular season, crushed a leadoff homer off Astros reliever Miguel Ullola that traveled an estimated 432 feet and hit off the center-field batter’s eye.
What it meant: After two electric innings from Ullola after Astros pitchers struggled early, it was a body blow to the Astros as they needed to keep the deficit manageable to pull off a comeback.
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5. Sousa loses control
Situation: No outs, bases empty, top of seventh inning
Score: White Sox 5, Astros 2
What happened: Bennett Sousa came in and things promptly went awry, as he allowed a pair of singles to start the inning. A sacrifice moved the runners to second and third. With Braden Montgomery up, Sousa uncorked a wild pitch that allowed the lead runner to score. He then threw another wild pitch that allowed Montgomery to reach after striking out.
What it meant: The Astros had gotten a charge from Nelson Velázquez’s two-run, pinch-hit homer in the fifth that gave the ballpark some life, but the give-back run in the seventh blunted any momentum as they ran out of outs.
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This article originally published at 5 key moments from Houston Astros’ Game 1 loss to Chicago White Sox in AL wild-card series.
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