Christian

Walker

Paredes has been struggling of late, hitting .164 (9-for-55) with three homers and five RBI over his last 15 games. Astros manager Joe Espada has opted to move him down in the order after mostly hitting second in recent weeks. It’ll be red-hot sluggers Yordan Alvarez and Christian Walker moving up to second and third in the order to pick up a few additional at-bats with Taylor Trammell moving into the cleanup spot.

It appears to be nothing more than a routine night off for the hot-hitting first baseman. Isaac Paredes will cover first base in his place while Braden Shewmake starts at the hot corner and will bat sixth for the Astros against Rangers’ right-hander Nathan Eovaldi.

Walker tattooed a gargantuan 401-foot blast to left-center field against Rangers reliever Peyton Gray for his 15th big fly of the season. The35-year-old veteran slugger has been sizzling-hot at the dish recently, homering four times in his last three games and eight times since the start of May. It’s probably flown a bit under the radar this season, but Walker is on pace to easily eclipse the 30-homer mark for the first time since 2023.

16 total bases for hitters in this game and Walker was responsible for nine of them. The rest of the Astros had four, while the Cubs singled three times. Walker came into the game in a 6-for-52 slump that had dropped his OPS from .950 to .808, but he’s back up to .861 now. He’s tied for ninth in the majors with 13 homers and 12th with 34 RBI.

Walker is in a 5-for-43 slump, dropping his average from .317 to .266, but three of those five hits have been homers. That Walker has done a nice job cutting back on the strikeouts this season suggests he’ll maintain a decent average going forward, but .317 was never realistic. His career-high average is .271, from the shortened 2020 season, and he finished in between .238 and .258 all five years since.

Walker was removed from Saturday’s contest after he was drilled in the head by a 93-mph fastball. He passed all of his concussion tests without issue though and is feeling much improved on Sunday. He’s back in there at first base and batting cleanup against Red Sox’ southpaw Ranger Suarez.

Walker underwent concussion tests after being hit in the head by a 93 mph fastball. The 35-year-old appears to be ok, but fantasy managers shouldn’t be stunned if Houston gives him a day to recover, either.

Walker was hit in the head by a 93 mph fastball and immediately exited the contest. The Astros will take every necessary precaution with Walker, and his status should be updated shortly. He went 3-for-4 with a homer and two RBI before exiting.

Walker and Isaac Paredes combined to drive in all seven Houston runs, with Walker knocking in Paredes three times. It’s hard not to wonder where this version of Walker was last year in his first season with Houston. He’s batting .291/.373/.573 with seven homers and 23 RBI through 29 games.

Paredes is batting third for the second straight contest with Jose Altuve in the cleanup spot and Christian Walker hitting fifth. It’s a bit of a new-look lineup for Astros manager Joe Espada after Paredes mostly hit fifth or lower over the first month. The 27-year-old is in a groove right now, hitting .240 (6-for-25) with two homers and four RBI over his last seven games.