HOUSTON -- The jeers and boos the Astros heard on the road in Oakland and Anaheim to begin the season didn’t seem to bother them on the field. Houston ripped through the A’s, outscoring them 35-9 en route to a four-game sweep, before splitting a pair of games with the Angels for a 5-1 start.

Now they’re set to come to Minute Maid Park and play before their hometown fans for the first time since Game 7 of the 2019 World Series, a victory by the Nationals. Workers were putting the finishing touches on the 21-year-old ballpark Wednesday afternoon -- one day before the Astros play their home opener at 7:10 p.m. CT Thursday against the A’s.

“I cannot wait,” Houston shortstop Carlos Correa said. “It’s going to be surreal to be once again in front of our fans and our home crowd. We missed them. Last year was not the same without them. Going out there to Minute Maid once again with fans cheering after every play, after every single run, after every home run is going to be pretty unbelievable.”

The Astros will open Minute Maid Park to a 50 percent capacity in April, and the club said Wednesday that Thursday’s game is “tracking” to be a sellout, which means about 21,700 fans. Masks will be required by fans when not actively eating and drinking, and social distancing efforts will be in place, in addition to other safety measures the team has laid out.

“Fans will notice that we’ve put a lot of extra details into making them feel welcome and feel safe,” said Anita Sehgal, the Astros’ senior vice president for marketing and communications. “There will be hand sanitizing stations everywhere, there will be reverse ATMs, there will be all kinds of upgrades to the restrooms, so they don’t have to touch things. The other thing I think they’ll see is we’ve done our best to make sure it’s still a joyful and enjoyable experience. There will still be a lot of energy. It will boom through videos and music and Orbit, but the things they’ve told us they’ve missed we’ve tried to bring back.”

For Dusty Baker, who was hired prior to the 2020 season, this will be his first experience as Astros manager at Minute Maid Park before fans.

“Some of the hostility we’re hearing on the road, it will be nice to go home and hear from people that are there for us and are on our side,” he said. “They’ve been spoiled by excellence the last four or five years, and I’m sure they’re expecting even more. The guys will respond to those positive vibes. And you get to sleep in your own bed.”

Houston has enjoyed a decided home-field advantage the past few years. Even last year, when there were no fans because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Astros went 20-8 at home. In 2019, Houston went a club-record 60-21 at home, becoming just the 13th team in history to win 60 home games in a single season (the first since the 1998 Yankees).

Houston has won 174 regular-season home games since 2017, third-most behind the Yankees (186) and Dodgers (182).

“I’m so excited to see everybody there,” relief pitcher Ryan Pressly said. “Those are great fans that are going to support us through and through. I honestly can’t wait to see everybody there. Just to have everybody back in the stadium and get some good adrenaline going. It’s going to be really fun to see everybody.”