Astros vs Cubs Recap: Walker's 2 HRs Seal 3-0 Win

The Houston Astros rolled into Chicago and shut out the Cubs 3-0 on Saturday night. This came right after Houston's 4-2 win on Friday, so the Astros were riding momentum. The Cubs had lost their last seven games and badly needed a win at home. But starting pitcher Colin Rea couldn't stop Houston's bats. The real story was Christian Walker. This guy is a defensive machine at first base, but today he was a hitting machine too. Walker went 3-for-3 with two home runs and three RBIs. He absolutely carried the Astros offense. Yordan Alvarez, one of Houston's best hitters, got pulled from the game in the sixth inning with back spasms. Still, the Astros didn't need him. Walker's power was more than enough to get the job done.

Let's watch how Houston scored. In the first inning, Colin Rea threw a slider that caught the middle of the zone. Christian Walker stepped up and made perfect contact. The ball rocketed to left-center field and cleared the wall—376 feet gone. Yordan Alvarez scored right behind him. Just like that, it was 2-0 Astros. Then in the fourth inning, Walker came up again with the Cubs still down 2-0. This time Rea threw a 92 mph sinker right down the pipe. Walker didn't miss it. Another blast to left-center, another 369 feet of pure power. The ball sailed over the wall for his second homer. Now it was 3-0, and that's all the runs the Astros would need. Houston's pitcher Kai-Wei Teng was brilliant. He went six innings, gave up just two hits, and struck out six Cubs batters without allowing a run.

The Cubs couldn't find any magic in the late innings. Houston's pitchers kept them completely quiet. Steven Okert pitched one inning and struck out one batter without giving up a hit. Then Enyel De Los Santos came in and did the same—one strikeout, no hits, no runs. Finally, Bryan King got the save by pitching the last inning, also without allowing a hit. The Cubs' bats were silent all night. The whole team went cold. No Cubs player could get anything going at the plate. Pete Crow-Armstrong struck out twice. Seiya Suzuki couldn't get a hit either. Michael Busch struck out twice as well. Houston's pitching was just too sharp. The Astros improved to 22-31 with this road win, keeping their two-game winning streak alive. Chicago fell to 29-23 with their seventh straight loss. The Cubs went home frustrated after being dominated by Walker and Houston's strong pitching staff.