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Orel Hershiser sounded suspicious about Astros’ blowout win

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Grey Papke | Last updated Jul 5, 2025 1:09 PM ET

Orel Hershiser is not letting things go when it comes to the Houston Astros and their 2017 cheating scandal.

The Astros blew out the Dodgers 18-1 on Friday at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Ca., a performance highlighted by a 10-run sixth inning. The Astros racked up 20 hits and five home runs in the performance, and the numbers were not even inflated by a position player pitching, as the Dodgers did not go that route until the ninth inning.

Hershiser, a Dodgers’ TV analyst, courted some controversy during the top of the third inning after Houston’s Cam Smith doubled off the wall. The Astros had already doubled and homered in the inning, and Hershiser brought up the cheating scandal by stating that it almost looked as if Houston’s hitters knew what was coming.

“I don’t want to open an old wound, but in some ways, they’re swinging at these breaking balls like they know what is coming,” Hershiser said.

Here’s the clip https://t.co/4myuJhpqj8 pic.twitter.com/wjtTJEnOEA
— Ahikam (@AhikamJr) July 5, 2025

It did not seem as if Hershiser was actually implying that the Astros were engaged in some sort of cheating on Friday. There are plenty of reasons, from tipping pitches to simply ineffective offerings, that the Astros might have been seeing Dodgers’ pitching well. Still, the comment led some to wonder if Hershiser was accusing the Astros of something.

The Dodgers lost the 2017 World Series to the Astros, and given what we now know about the circumstances of Houston’s success that year, their fans have never quite let it go. Seeing Houston pound them so convincingly Friday was certainly enough to bring back some bad memories and raise suspicions about how this was happening.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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