The Los Angeles Dodgers continued their road trip on Monday with an 8-3 win over the Houston Astros in the opener of a three-game series at Daikin Park.
There is always some extra anticipation when the teams play each other due to the Astros’ 2017 World Series victory over the Dodgers, which has now been tainted by one of the biggest cheating scandals in MLB history.
Ensuing matchups between the clubs have come with added intensity, but the temperature has cooled considerably in recent years. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts is among those who have completely moved on from the events that transpired.
“I’ve gotten past it,” Roberts said of the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal on SportsNet LA. “There’s not a whole lot of the same guys here. The fanbase is the fanbase, and our fanbase has feelings about them and they have feelings about us.
“Honestly, for me, I just want to win a series and play good baseball. Honestly, I don’t put too much thought into that.”
When asked if the Dodgers’ three World Series wins since 2017 allowed him to move from the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal, Roberts noted “that certainly helps.”
As the Dodgers’ skipper highlighted, many players from the 2017 Astros World Series roster are no longer with the team. The only exceptions are Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa and Lance McCullers Jr. Teoscar Hernández also appeared in one game for Houston that year before he was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays.
Kiké Hernández and Brock Stewart are the only players from the 2017 Dodgers still with the team today, though the latter was not included on any of the team’s playoff rosters that year.
Hernández was one of the first Dodgers to soften their stance on the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal, pointing out that he played for former bench coach Alex Cora on the Boston Red Sox and faced Houston in the 2021 postseason.
Astros’ sign-stealing scandal
The Astros were found to have electronically stole signs throughout the 2017 season and into the playoffs en route to winning their first World Series championship in franchise history over the Dodgers.
A lengthy investigation led to MLB commissioner Rob Manfred suspending then-general manager Jeff Luhnow and manager AJ Hinch for one year, fining the Astros the maximum $5 million permitted, and stripping the organization of their first- and second-round picks in the 2020 and 2021 MLB Draft.
Manfred was criticized for not coming down harder against the Astros as he granted players immunity in exchange for their cooperation during the league’s investigation.
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