Dodgers' Kyle Tucker Sends Message to Astros Fans Booing Him in Houston Return

What a difference a year makes.

Last season, when Kyle Tucker returned to the Houston Astros as a member of the Chicago Cubs, he was treated like royalty.

Tucker had spent the first seven years of his big league career with Houston, making three All-Star teams, earning two Silver Slugger awards and helping the Astros win the 2022 World Series. He was then traded to the Cubs, meaning there was no bad blood between the two sides — that was clear in how he was received.

Tucker walked up to the plate to a huge standing ovation in his first at-bat, both from the fans and the Astros dugout. The Astros even played his usual walk-up song, with fans wearing crowns in honor of his "King Tuck" nickname.

“There’s a lot of really good memories here, and we had a lot of success playing in this city and on this field, so it’s cool,” Tucker said to reporters at the time. “The biggest thing is being around the guys in those moments.”

A year later, the fans seemed to have forgotten about those good memories.

When Tucker stepped up to the plate for his first at-bat at Daikin Park as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers this week, he was met with boos.

Kyle Tucker was booed in his return to Houston in his first at bat 👀 pic.twitter.com/SFENb3M3A1
— js9innings (@js9inningsmedia) May 5, 2026

Tucker was asked about that response from the fans after the game.

“I don’t really focus on crowd noise and stuff. Most of the time I don’t really hear it a lot,” Tucker said to reporters. “So I don’t really have a take on it.”

The boos didn't seem to bother Tucker at the plate, as he went 2-for-2 in his first two at-bats on Monday with an RBI single and a home run. On Tuesday, he plated the Dodgers' only run of the game with an RBI single in the eighth inning.

Kyle Tucker is looking a lot like his old self in his return to Houston.

He's now 2-for-2 with an RBI single and a home run.

The Dodgers lead 4-2 and Tucker's OPS is up to .726 this season.pic.twitter.com/oMeMGpXFGT
— Noah Camras (@noahcamras) May 5, 2026

Tucker's inaugural season with the Dodgers hasn't gone as expected thus far. Across 35 games, Tucker is slashing .244/.329/.385 with four home runs, 19 RBIs and an OPS of .714.

Entering this season, Tucker had a career slash line of .273/.358/.507 with an OPS of .865. The Dodgers were expecting that player when they signed him to a four-year, $240 million deal. That contract is likely a big reason as to why Tucker was booed in Houston.

Tucker joining the back-to-back defending champions in free agency likely didn't sit well with Astros fans. Moreover, that team being the Dodgers — who have a rivalry with the Astros after meeting in the 2017 World Series — likely only made things worse.

However, the distaste in this rivalry should always come from the Dodger side since it was the Astros who cheated in the 2017 World Series. For some reason, though, the fans decided to take some anger out on Tucker in his return to Houston.

Dave Roberts Discusses Astros Cheating Scandal in Return to Houston

Speaking of the 2017 World Series, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was asked if there were any lingering feelings with the team returning to Houston. He said he's over it.

“I’ve gotten past it,” Roberts said. “There’s not a whole lot of the same guys here. The fan base is the fan base. Our fan base has feelings about them. Their fan base has feelings about us. I really, honestly, just want to get out and win a series and play good baseball. Honestly, I don’t put too much thought into it.”

Does the fact that the Dodgers have won three World Series since 2017 help?

“That certainly helped,” Roberts said.

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