Christian Walker hit two home runs and drove in three as the Houston Astros beat the Chicago Cubs 3-0 Saturday, extending Chicago’s losing streak to seven. The wider slate brought key wins elsewhere, including St. Louis splitting with Cincinnati, Toronto beati
CHICAGO — Christian Walker didn’t wait long to make his point. He launched a two-run homer in the first inning, then added his 13th home run in the fourth off Colin Rea, and by the time Houston had finished a 3-0 victory, the Chicago Cubs were staring at a losing streak that now sits at seven.
Walker finished with two home runs and three RBIs as the Astros extended Chicago’s skid to its longest skid in four years. It’s the first time the Cubs have been stuck in a stretch like this since a nine-game slide from July 7-16, 2022. The Cubs have also lost 11 of their last 13.
Kai-Wei Teng gave Houston the control it needed, allowing two hits in six innings. He struck out six and walked three, helping the Astros win their second straight and third win in four games. Bryan King and the rest of Houston’s bullpen followed. with King working around a ninth-inning single to finish a three-hitter and record his sixth save.
There was more than one storyline for Houston that night. Yordan Alvarez left the game in the middle of an at-bat in the sixth inning with a back spasm.
Chicago’s defense had one moment worth noting in the middle innings. Nico Hoerner. the Cubs’ second baseman and a two-time Gold Glove winner. made a between-the-legs flip to first baseman Michael Busch to retire César Salazar on a fifth-inning drag bunt. Hoerner made a bare-hand pickup before throwing to Busch, who reached high to his left.
The Cubs also made lineup changes that reflected their season’s churn and the pressure around results. Chicago benched Ian Happ, who entered in a 1-for-24 slide, and started Michael Conforto, who went 0-for-2.
Across the rest of the MLB slate, Saturday delivered its own mix of momentum and drama.
Cincinnati split a day-night doubleheader with St. Louis. In the opener. Bryan Torres hit a two-run homer and also singled in his major league debut at age 28 as the Cardinals won. Spencer Steer scored the winning run in the 11th in the second game with a headfirst slide on Blake Dunn’s one-hopper to shortstop. and Cincinnati outlasted St. Louis to split.
The Reds found their rhythm early in the second contest. getting a three-run homer from Elly De La Cruz and a two-run shot from Nathaniel Lowe as Cincinnati surged to a 5-1 lead in the fifth. But St. Louis kept coming, scoring twice in the ninth and tying it 6-all on a two-out RBI single by Jordan Walker. Walker started that comeback with a three-run homer in the sixth.
Steer was the automatic runner in the 11th and advanced from second to third on a sacrifice bunt by P.J. Higgins. After a walk to Dane Myers put runners at the corners, Dunn sent a one-hopper up the middle. With the infield playing in. Masyn Winn made a lunging stop to his left and a spinning throw to the plate. Catcher Yohel Pozo scooped the ball on a short hop. but couldn’t get the tag down in time to get Steer. and a replay review upheld the safe call. Dunn was credited with an RBI on a fielder’s choice. and he also prevented the go-ahead run in the top of the inning with a sliding catch in shallow right field.
Toronto’s afternoon featured Paul Skenes in a rare rough stretch. George Springer hit his 65th leadoff home run, and the Blue Jays sent Skenes to losses in consecutive starts for the first time this season, beating Pittsburgh for its fourth straight win and seventh in 10 games.
Skenes (6-4). the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner. allowed four runs and a career-high nine hits and one walk in five-plus innings with two strikeouts. His ERA rose to 3.00. He left after giving up four straight hits in the sixth. having previously tied his big league high by allowing five runs in an outing against Philadelphia on May 17.
Tyler Heineman also homered for the defending AL champions, his first since last July 19. Patrick Corbin (2-1) held Toronto’s side steady with one run and five hits in six innings, striking out a season-high seven. Jeff Hoffman struck out the side in the ninth for his fifth save in eight chances.
In Miami, Max Meyer leaned into dominance—seven shutout innings of one-hit ball—while Liam Hicks delivered the damage with two homers as the Marlins beat a punchless New York.
Owen Caissie drove in two runs with a double. and Miami entered the series allowing only one run and three hits in each of the first two games. Otto López doubled in the third and leads the majors with 69 hits. Mark Vientos’ opposite-field single to right in the second was the only hit off Meyer (5-0). the third overall pick in the 2020 amateur draft. Meyer struck out eight, walked three, and hit a batter while lowering his ERA to 2.52. Over his last four home starts, he has permitted just two runs over 25 innings.
Boston’s loss added another defensive moment and continued a tough stretch. Trevor Larnach matched his career high with four hits, Taj Bradley allowed one run over five innings in his return from a chest muscle injury, and Minnesota beat Boston for its ninth win in 13 games.
Benches and bullpens cleared briefly in the fourth after Boston’s Willson Contreras collided with catcher Victor Caratini when Contreras was tagged out trying to score after running through a late stop sign from third base coach Chad Epperson. No punches were thrown. Larnach had three singles and a double. Boston managed five hits but dropped to 2-20 when scoring two runs or fewer.
Atlanta’s game against Washington ended in a tight, unusual shutout shape. Jake Irvin held the Braves hitless over five innings before leaving with an injury, and Washington defeated Atlanta with a combined one-hitter.
Michael Harris led off the seventh with a clean single to center against Brad Lord for the Braves’ only hit. A call that was overturned—then disputed—put two runners on for Atlanta. but Ozzie Albies popped out. Dominic Smith flied out and Austin Riley struck out to preserve the shutout. Lord worked three innings before Richard Lovelady pitched a perfect ninth for his fourth save. Dylan Crews and Jorbit Vivas homered off starter Grant Holmes for the only runs of the game. which was delayed 41 minutes in the middle of the second by rain.
Irvin’s outing came after a winless drought of sorts. It was an unlikely performance by Irvin (2-4), who had not earned a win since his first start on March 29. He bent over and grimaced after his final out in the fifth. went back out for warmups in the sixth. but was lifted without throwing another official pitch.
San Francisco put Chicago back on the defensive. Harrison Bader hit a grand slam for the second time in six days. and the Giants beat Chicago to end a four-game skid. Casey Schmitt homered and drove in three runs. and Willy Adames also went deep as San Francisco put together big innings after totaling 12 runs across its previous four games.
Bader’s grand slam was his third career slam, with the six-run fifth highlighting the damage. The 31-year-old outfielder later reached on an infield single. Schmitt hit his 10th home run of the season earlier in the fifth as the Giants took a six-run lead. Miguel Vargas and Tristan Peters had two hits apiece for the White Sox. Matt Gage (4-1). the second of four Giants pitchers. earned the win by recording all four of his outs on strikeouts.
Kansas City ended a four-game losing streak behind Stephen Kolek’s complete-game shutout. Carter Jensen drove in two RBIs as Kansas shut out Seattle.
Kolek (3-0) allowed a walk and four hits while striking out two. He needed only 108 pitches to go all nine innings in a game that lasted 2:06—four more pitches than his previous career high. It was Kolek’s second career shutout in 23 starts. and the seventh complete game and fourth shutout in the major leagues this season. His other shutout had come as a five-hitter in a 21-0 win at Colorado on May 10 of last season while pitching for San Diego.
Kolek joined Chris Archer and Mike Montgomery as the only pitchers to debut since 2010 with two shutouts in their first 23 career starts.
The Royals made their early claim in the first inning. Maikel Garcia led off with a double and scored on a fielder’s choice grounder by Vinnie Pasquantino. Jensen had a RBI grounder, and Pasquantino later scored on Jac Caglianone’s single.
Philadelphia ended Cleveland’s momentum and did it the hard way, after rain forced a near two-hour start delay. Zack Wheeler pitched six shutout innings and Bryson Stott broke a scoreless tie in the fourth with a two-out. two-run single as Philadelphia defeated Cleveland. ending a seven-game winning streak.
Wheeler (4-0) allowed just two hits and struck out six, pushing his scoreless streak to 13 innings after the long delay. The Phillies’ left-hander Cristopher Sánchez had tossed eight sharp innings Friday against Cleveland, extending his shutout streak to 37 2/3 innings over his last five outings.
Stott’s two-run single put him at 20 RBIs this month, the most in the National League. Bryce Harper had his sixth three-hit game of the season—fourth in May—and scored twice. Philadelphia’s relievers finished the three-hitter. with Jhoan Duran earning his ninth save as the Phillies (26-26) snapped a three-game skid.
In Milwaukee, Teoscar Hernández homered and matched a career high with six RBIs as Los Angeles’ bullpen extended its streak of scoreless innings to 36 in the Dodgers’ victory over Milwaukee.
It is the longest shutout streak for a Dodgers bullpen since at least 1901. According to Sportradar, it is the longest by any major league bullpen since September 2017, when Cleveland relievers threw 39 straight scoreless innings.
Alex Vesia, Kyle Hurt, Tanner Scott and Jonathan Hernández each pitched an inning in relief of starter Roki Sasaki (3-3). Only one of Milwaukee’s five hits came in the final seven innings. The Dodgers bullpen’s last run-allowed moment came in a 6-2 loss to the San Francisco Giants on May 12.
San Diego kept its own edge against the Athletics. Lucas Giolito and four relievers combined on a five-hitter as the Padres beat the Athletics 2-0 on Saturday night.
Fernando Tatis Jr. and Ty France drove in runs for San Diego, which has won six of eight. The Padres mustered only two hits themselves, but took advantage of six early walks by A’s starter J.T. Ginn (2-3).
Five days earlier. Ginn took a no-hitter into the ninth inning against the Los Angeles Angels before giving up a leadoff single to Adam Frazier and a two-run homer to Zach Neto in a 2-1 loss. This time, Ginn lasted only 2 1/3 innings. He didn’t allow any hits. but walked six of the 14 batters he faced and plunked Tatis with a bases-loaded pitch in the second.
Giolito (2-0) has won both his starts for San Diego since signing a one-year contract with the Padres in April. He overcame five walks this time out, allowing four hits in five innings. The veteran right-hander gave up singles to his first two batters. putting runners at the corners. but pitched out of the jam.
Arizona and Colorado traded hits in a 5-4 D-backs win. Ketel Marte hit a two-run homer and scored twice as the Diamondbacks beat the Rockies. Nolan Arenado had a two-run double, and Marte finished with three of Arizona’s 11 hits.
Zac Gallen (3-4) gave up three runs and six hits in 5 1/3 innings, striking out six and walking two. Kevin Ginkel worked a hitless inning before Paul Sewald pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his 12th save. Arizona has won seven of its last nine games.
TJ Rumfield hit a solo homer and had three hits for Colorado. Geraldo Perdomo opened the scoring with an RBI single in the third, and Arenado’s double made it 3-0. After the Rockies scored twice in the fourth, Marte hit his eighth home run to right field in the bottom half to extend the lead to 5-2.
Troy Johnston hit an RBI single for the Rockies. Ezequiel Tovar and Sterlin Thompson each had a run-scoring groundout. Rumfield’s homer off Brandon Pfaadt cut it to 5-4 in the eighth.
And in Anaheim, Mike Trout helped the Angels close things out against Texas. Trout hit a two-run homer, Nolan Schanuel added an RBI double, and Los Angeles clinched a series win with a victory over the Rangers.
Zach Neto walked to open the bottom of the first inning before Trout launched his 13th home run of the year over the center-field wall for a 2-0 lead. Neto scored again in the fifth on Schanuel’s double to make it 3-1. Schanuel exited after his hit with left calf tightness, and Vaughn Grissom took over at first base.
Oswald Peraza added insurance in the eighth with a two-run single. Walbert Ureña (2-4) threw five innings, allowing one run and five hits while striking out six. Kirby Yates earned his first save of the season by pitching a hitless ninth. Nathan Eovaldi (5-5) gave up three runs and five hits in seven innings while striking out six for the Rangers.
MLB roundup Christian Walker Astros Cubs losing streak Kai-Wei Teng Yordan Alvarez injury Paul Skenes George Springer Teoscar Hernandez Stephen Kolek Zack Wheeler Dodgers bullpen shutout streak