The manager of the Houston Astros is asking Major League Baseball to protect his team from retaliation after other teams blasted the Astros for widespread cheating. Dusty Baker urged the MLB in an interview Saturday to take action against players on opposing teams who intentionally hit Astros players with pitches. “I’m depending on the league to try to put a stop to this seemingly premeditated retaliation that I'm hearing about,” Baker said, adding that he hoped the league would prevent any retaliation “before somebody gets hurt.”

MLB pitchers have given heated remarks in recent days about the Astros’ failings. Cincinnati Red pitcher Trevor Bauer said Friday, “I'm not going to let them forget the fact that they are hypocrites, they are cheaters, they've stolen from a lot of other people and the game itself.” The Astros stole in-game communication signs from other teams during games in 2017 and 2018 and fed them to the teams’ players on the field. The Astros won the World Series in 2017, and the MLB has opened an investigation into the team’s conduct and confirmed the cheating.