The Houston Rockets had a busy day Friday, flying from Honolulu, Hawaii, after Thursday night’s preseason victory to Tokyo, Japan, for their next set of exhibition games next week.
But even being nearly 7,000 miles away from home and arriving in the wee hours of Saturday morning, starting center Clint Capela and the team’s official social media account were keenly aware of the biggest event going on back in Houston, Texas.
That event, of course, is the start of Major League Baseball’s postseason —where starting pitcher and potential Cy Young winner Justin Verlander, second baseman and former Most Valuable Player (MVP) Jose Altuve, and the rest of the Astros won Game 1 of the American League Division Series (ALDS) on Friday by a 6-2 margin.
After posting a franchise-best record of 107-55 in 2019, the Astros are working to take back the World Series crown that was theirs two years ago. Even though the Rockets are a half-world away and with games of their own, they noticed Friday’s main event in Houston.
The love from the Rockets has certainly been reciprocated by the Astros’ players, who have routinely worn Rockets jerseys during the last two NBA postseasons to show their support for Houston’s basketball team. (And that’s not something that can be taken for granted, given the very awkward relationship between at least some MLB and NBA players in Oakland, California.)
It’s been quite common to see James Harden and other big-name players in attendance at the Astros’ postseason games over the last two years. That won’t happen in the ALDS versus Tampa Bay, of course, since the Rockets are in Tokyo through Thursday, Oct. 10 for a pair of exhibition games versus the Toronto Raptors.
But if the Astros advance past the first round — and after winning Game 1 of the best-of-five series, they’re certainly in a strong position to do so — expect to see plenty of Rockets’ representation at Minute Maid Park once the team arrives back in Houston later this month.
