It's been eight years, but the Houston Astros can't rid themselves from their sign-stealing scandal that swept across baseball.

The Astros mashed the Los Angeles Dodgers 18–1 on Friday at Dodger Stadium, tagging starter Ben Casparius for six runs on nine hits in three innings—and blowing up reliever Noah Davis's ERA with 10 runs in 1 1/3 innings of work.

In the third inning of that offensive masterclass, Astros rookie Cam Smith hammered a double off the wall in center field. At the time, the Astros led 4–1 and had been raking against Casparius all afternoon. SportsNet LA analyst Orel Hershiser couldn't help himself but mention the trash-banging scandal of 2017.

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

Hershiser, of course, is referencing the Astros' scandal during their championship season in 2017 when the team was found to have illegally used video cameras to steal signs from opponents during games. Houston used a camera in center field to view the sign from the opposing catcher, and a player or team staffer would give an audio cue—like banging a trash can—to tell the batter which pitch was coming next.

Only two players remain on the Astros from that '17 squad—Jose Altuve and right-handed pitcher Lance McCullers Jr.

Since the news story broke in 2019 about Houston's cheating scandal, MLB has cracked down on video usage in dugouts. But the scars from that incident remain, especially among the Dodgers faithful, who watched their team lose the 2017 World Series to the Astros in seven games.