Astros filming draws complaint

CLEVELAND — The Houston Astros may be defending more than their World Series title.

The champions are under scrutiny after Cleveland filed a complaint to Major League Baseball about a man associated with Houston attempting to film in the Indians’ dugout during Game 3 of the American League division series last week.

During the Astros’ series-clinching victory Oct. 8 at Progressive Field in Cleveland, a man with a cellphone standing by the photographer’s pit was removed “several times” by security personnel, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on Tuesday night. The man’s credential was requested by Houston, according to the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.

MLB also says it is aware of a report by Metro Boston that a man claiming to be an Astros employee was removed from a credentialed area near the Boston Red Sox dugout during the AL Championship Series opener at Fenway Park. The Red Sox dropped the series opener but have won the past two to take a 2-1 lead.

In a statement, MLB said the matter “will be handled internally” and offered no other details.

While it’s yet to be proven if the Astros were doing anything illegal, the two incidents have raised further questions about the use of electronic equipment during games and whether Houston has been cheating.

According to the Metro report, which cited multiple security sources who were on the scene, a man was removed during the third inning of Game 1 on Saturday night at Fenway Park but allowed to stay in the ballpark after another Astros staff member intervened. The report said the man had a small camera and was texting frequently, but did not have a media credential.

Houston Manager AJ Hinch and Red Sox Manager Alex Cora both said after Boston’s 8-2 victory Tuesday night in Houston that they had heard about the alleged incident.

“I’m aware of something going on, but I haven’t been briefed,” Hinch said. “I’m worried about the game.”

Cora said he has been concerned throughout the season about Red Sox signs being stolen.

“So I mean we do a good job changing sequences and paying attention to details. And we don’t get caught up on the whole paranoia thing of the signs,” he said. “We try to slow it down. If we feel there’s something going on, we switch the signs.”

When asked if he felt like anything was going on the first two ALCS games at Fenway Park, Cora responded, “No, I don’t.”