PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. _ Astros rightfielder George Springer walked from the on-deck circle to the plate to leadoff the game Sunday when a barrage of boos confined him.
"Nobody's telling you what's coming now!" a fan behind home plate yelled.
Noah Syndergaard, unfazed, waited for Springer to dig into the box. Then the right-hander pounded fastball after fastball _ tempting Springer to swing. The outfielder connected for a fly ball that died in shallow center field.
The crowd booed their lungs out, pausing only to take a breath before resuming their rage. The Astros retreated into the visiting dugout (and you could practically see their tails between their legs). In the sixth inning, Springer struck out again _ this time against right-hander Erasmo Ramirez _ and he bashed his bat on a railing near the bench in frustration.
"I didn't even notice it," Syndergaard said of the boos _ who may have been the only one at Clover Park too locked in on his start to hear the jeers.
Not all the fans were angry at the Astros for cheating their way to a championship title in 2017. Some young fans poked fun at the team's sign-stealing scandal and walked the concourse holding up signs that read 'FASTBALL' or 'SLIDER' in big block letters.
