CHICAGO (670 The Score) -- Cubs right-hander Yu Darvish experienced one of the greatest lows of his career in the World Series in 2017, when his Dodgers faced the Astros with a championship on the line.
Darvish lost two starts in that seven-game series, going only 1 2/3 innings each time and allowing four earned runs in both games. That included him taking the mound for Game 7 of the World Series in Dodger Stadium and putting the Dodgers in a hole from which they could never come back. The Astros won 5-1 in the decisive game to clinch the World Series over Darvish's Dodgers.
Darvish was told later by Astros players that he was tipping pitches. But the recent revelation of Houston's sign-stealing scandal has Darvish wondering what really was giving the Astros such an advantage on the game's greatest stage.
"That's what I want to know," Darvish said at Cubs Convention on Friday. "A couple Astros players told me I was tipping pitches, 100 percent. But now it came out they were (stealing signs). That's why I want to know if that World Series number came from stealing signs or tipping pitches."
Does Darvish believe now that the Astros were honest saying he was tipping pitches?
"I'm not so sure," he said with a laugh.
Darvish had been strong in the 2017 playoffs prior to the World Series, allowed just a combined two earned runs in two starts, both wins, before facing the Astros. That included a victory against the Cubs in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series at Wrigley Field as he worked 6 1/3 innings of one-run ball while striking out seven.
The Dodgers found out Darvish was tipping pitches during his loss in Game 3 at Houston, but it was something he felt was corrected going into Game 7. Looking back, Darvish never found evidence that he was tipping pitches in the game.
The Astros were hit with stiff penalties after Major League Baseball completed its investigation, with the organization fined $5 million and forced to forfeit its first-round and second-round draft picks in 2020 and 2021. Manager A.J. Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow were each suspended for the season before being fired Monday after the penalties were revealed.
Darvish declined to comment on whether Astros players deserved to be punished for their role in the sign-stealing scandal, but he's hoping the penalties result in major changes for the game.
"I'm hoping everybody plays by sportsmanship," Darvish said.
Chris Emma covers the Bears, Chicago's sports scene and more for 670TheScore.com. Follow him on Twitter @CEmma670.
