Dalton Rushing caught more flack over the past week for allegedly saying an expletive toward Miguel Amaya during a recent game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs at Dodger Stadium.
Television cameras captured Nico Hoerner looking surprised in the batter’s box when the comment was made, and the 28-year-old later expressed regret that he didn’t confront Rushing as a show of support for his teammate.
Rushing didn’t take offense to that and reached out to Hoerner, via Jack Harris of the California Post.
Rushing and Hoerner are represented by the same agency, Apex Baseball. So this week, Rushing said he reached out to Hoerner through his agents “to clear the air” about what happened.
“I respect his point of view of it, from the looks and the sound of it,” Rushing said. “And I respect him sticking up for his players. I would do the same thing for any of these guys.”
Rushing has made plenty of headlines this season for his breakout season at the plate, but he has also been in the spotlight for ruffling the feathers of several teams around the league.
The 25-year-old first alleged something “fishy” with the Colorado Rockies’ success against Will Klein during a series at Coors Field, which was quickly refuted by Dodgers manager Dave Roberts.
Then during a matchup against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park, Rushing appeared to direct an F-bomb toward Jung Hoo Lee as he sat at home plate upon being thrown out to end the sixth inning
Rushing later denied saying the word that many lip readers claimed, but the Giants seemingly retaliated when Logan Webb hit the young backstop later in the series.
Rushing’s comment toward Amaya came after his successful stolen base attempt. Nothing more came of it in the time and given Rushing sought to clarify the situation with Hoerner, there might not be retribution when the Dodgers and Cubs play at Wrigley Field from Aug. 3-5.
Dalton Rushing’s 2026 stats
Despite having limited playing time to begin the 2026 season, Rushing enters play Sunday batting an excellent .340/.415/.830 with two doubles, seven home runs and 17 RBI in 53 plate appearances across 16 games.
The Dodgers have found creative ways to get Rushing’s bat into the lineup, using him as a designated hitter on days where Shohei Ohtani doesn’t hit. He also made one start at first base when Freddie Freeman was on the paternity list.
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