Red Sox pitcher defends Houston Astros after Carlos Beltran's recent comments
ASTROS NEWS
04 April 2022
ASTROS NEWS
Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale joined WEEI's The Greg Hill Show on Monday and was asked about Carlos Beltran's recent comments about the Astos World Series title being tainted in 2017 due to sign-stealing. Sale had a different reaction to Beltran's comments than I believe many were expecting.
“I don’t know, man. Here’s the thing, and I’m going to give you my honest opinion. If the Astros were the only team doing it, then yeah, give it back. Take it back. I know for a fact they weren’t,” Sale said. He also went on to caution people about pointing fingers at teams for cheating. "Make sure that you and your team weren’t doing something..."
And let's be real, Carlos Beltran just took a job working essentially for the Yankees. If he wants to keep that job, he's going to have to toe the company line. And while I'm reading between the lines here, I think Sales' quote about "pointing fingers" is directly pointed at the Yankees. Plus, we know the Red Sox have been punished twice by MLB for using technology to steal signs, so obviously the Astros weren't the only team doing it. And MLB concluded that the Yankees improperly used a dugout phone in 2017.
At this point, we're talking about stuff that happened 5 years ago, and Sale said as much. He feels it's time to move on, and there's nothing we can do now to fix what happened in 2017.
Editor's note: Chris Sale discusses the Astros and Yankees around the 10-minute mark in the video above.
Cam Smith hit a three-run homer in his first game against the Cubs since being traded to Houston and Brandon Walter threw six solid innings in his first MLB victory as the Astros beat Chicago 7-4 on Friday night.
THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER.#BuiltForThis pic.twitter.com/xZ9dvfZYTs
— Houston Astros (@astros) June 28, 2025
Yainer Diaz added a three-run homer as AL West-leading Houston extended its winning streak to five games.
3-run Yainer Bomb!#BuiltForThis pic.twitter.com/4zku17xsR0
— Houston Astros (@astros) June 28, 2025
The Astros scored four runs in the third off Cubs starter Cade Horton (3-2), with Jose Altuve scoring on a sacrifice fly by Victor Caratini before Diaz capped the inning with his 377-foot shot to left-center.
Smith, a first-round draft selection by Chicago last year was acquired by the Astros in the offseason as part of the deal for Kyle Tucker, extended Houston’s lead to 7-0 in the fourth with his home run off the left field façade, his sixth of the season. Smith had two hits and scored two runs.
Walter (1-1), a 28-year-old left-hander, allowed one run on four hits with five strikeouts. Josh Hader got the final out for his 22nd save.
Jeremy Peña exited in the fifth with left rib soreness. He was hit by a pitch in his left side in the second. There was no immediate word on the extent of his injury.
Nico Hoerner hit a solo home run in the fifth, and Matt Shaw added a two-run double in the seventh and an RBI double in the ninth for NL Central-leading Chicago.
Horton allowed seven runs on eight hits with four walks in four innings.
Tucker was hitless in his return to Houston. He kept the game scoreless in the first, throwing Isaac Paredes out at the plate to end the frame.
Hader inducing a lineout to center by Ian Happ to end it with Tucker, representing the tying run, on deck.
Houston has its second five-game winning streak for the month of June, and improved to an MLB-best 18-6 this month.
Cubs RHP Colin Rea (4-3, 4.42 ERA) starts the second game of the three-game series Saturday. Houston has not named a starter.