Chicago trip a family affair for Astros

CHICAGO -- When Astros manager Bo Porter looked at the schedule over the offseason and saw three straight day games in Chicago, he knew it would be the perfect opportunity to have player, coach and front-office personnel's families join the team for a trip.

The family vacation is finally here, and Porter said the Astros are enjoying Chicago with their loved ones and relishing the rare opportunity to have dinner together on the road.

"This game can really be time-consuming," Porter said. "You spend a lot of time away from your family. That's why we as an organization set out to do things like we have with this trip here and allow the family to travel to get the players, the staff and the executives for some extra time with their family when usually we're on the road and they're back home. It's just a great thing to do, overall, for everybody."

Porter said he wasn't sure how many families made the trip, but the team flight and buses were packed.