The Houston Astros defeated the San Diego Padres on Tuesday night thanks in part to closer Josh Hader, who shut the door and reveled in boos.

It’s been a bit of a struggle for Josh Hader in his first season with the Houston Astros. Hader signed a lucrative multiyear deal with Houston in hopes of forming an elite one-two punch with Ryan Pressly in the back end of the Astros bullpen. Instead, Hader’s season has been up and down, but he’s been far more stable since the Astros got back to their winning ways post-trade deadline.

As the Astros hope to make another playoff run — Houston has appeared in seven straight ALCS, an MLB record — Hader has a role to play in just how far Joe Espada’s team can go. There were rumblings before the season that Hader was open to multi-inning outings, something he was previously afraid to do because of the long-term injury risk.

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Why are Padres fans upset with Josh Hader?

That part of the story is essential to understand why San Diego Padres fans were so upset with Hader upon his return to Petco Park on Tuesday. After leading the Padres to a 2022 NLCS appearance, Hader put restrictions on his usage in 2023, which was a contract year. Hader wanted his payday and was looking out for himself, rather than the interests of the team he played for that year. It’s tough to blame him, as baseball can be a brutal business.

Padres fans didn’t see it that way. When asked about the complicated welcome he received prior to pitching 1.1 shutout innings in an Astros win, Hader had the best possible response.

“I love this ballpark, I love pitching here and I love the boos,” Hader said. “Living rent-free is always a good time.”

Padres fans rude welcome didn’t matter to Astros and Josh Hader

Both of these teams are likely to play in the MLB postseason, so there was a game to worry about. Hader’s 1.1 shutout innings came in handy, as Houston was able to win the second game of this series, evening the results at one apiece.

Hader’s outing started with a lengthy delay, as he was called for a pitch clock violation before even facing his first batter. However, the umpires reconvened after the Astros filed a complaint, and eventually reversed the call.

“I think at the end of the day it’s momentum-based, I’m coming out of the bullpen getting ready to face a guy and then I’ve got to sit for 10 minutes, I mean I would say that would probably be the biggest thing,” Hader said. “At the end of the day, I yanked a slider down. It’s not like I executed the pitch so that probably would have happened either way maybe. Who knows? But I’d say it definitely changed the momentum a little bit early.”

Timing and execution is everything. Hader knows that better than most.