Christian

Walker

It’s too little, too late for Walker, as the Astros were eliminated from contention today. Still, he does have four homers in three games, upping his season line to .238/.298/.421. His OPS is back up to .718, barely lower than his season-high mark of .720. One more good game Sunday and he’d be one of the rare players to finish with his highest OPS of the season on the final day of said season.

Walker opened the scoring in the ballgame with a 408-foot (108.3 mph EV) solo shot off of Kyle Hendricks to start the fourth inning. That would be his only hit in four at-bats on the night. The 34-year-old slugger has had a bit of a disappointing season overall at the dish, slashing .236/.296/.410 with 25 homers, 86 RBI and a pair of stolen bases.

Walker plated a run with a fielder’s choice in the top half of the first inning that increased the Astros’ early edge to 2-0. He then punched a two-out RBI single into right field off of Bradley Basso in the fourth inning that made it 7-0. He then put the cherry on top of the victory for the Astros with a 366-foot (107.4 mph EV) solo shot off of Scott McGough on the first pitch of the eighth inning. The 34-year-old slugger has been swinging a hot bat down the stretch and is now slashing .236/.296/.406 with 24 long balls and 85 RBI on the season.

The Astros are giving their 34-year-old first baseman a breather though he’ll undoubtedly be used off the bench in a key spot at some point during Saturday’s battle against the M’s. Instead the Astros will load their lineup with left-handed bats with Victor Caratini starting at first base and batting fifth against Mariners’ right-hander George Kirby.

Walker smacked a one-out single into center off of Bryce Elder in the second inning then came around to score the game’s first run on an RBI knock off the bat of Yainer Diaz. He then pulverized a 1-2 sinker from Elder for a 431-foot (107.6 mph EV) two-run shot in the third inning that extended the Astros’ early advantage to 6-0.

Walker singled in the first inning and scored on a home run by Victor Caratini. He later took Dietrich Enns deep for a two-run blast in the seventh for his third home run in three days and his 19th blast of the season. The 34-year-old slugger is slashing .237/.303/.407 with 72 RBI across 519 plate appearances.

Walker opened the scoring in the ballgame and gave the Astros a lead they would never relinquish with his 391-foot (102.9 mph EV) two-run blast off of Brandon Young in the top half of the first inning. The 34-year-old slugger also led off the third inning with a double and scored on an RBI double off the bat of Jesus Sanchez. With his two-hit attack, Walker is now slashing .235/.302/.396 with 17 homers, 67 RBI and just one stolen base in what has been a disappointing first season with the Astros.

Walker got the Astros going in this game with a loud 113.2 mph, 417 foot two-run homer in the first inning off Marlins’ starter Janson Junk. His counting stats have slowly been creeping up towards the respectable range and he has six homers and an .851 OPS over his last 30 games. There’s a good chance he maintains that level of production for the rest of the season, which looks much more like the player we expected him to be heading into the year.

Walker was dropped to sixth in the lineup with the Astros adding Jeremy Peña, Jesús Sánchez and Carlos Correa on Friday, but he was back in the cleanup spot today due to Peña’s absence. Obviously, batting sixth would take away a little of what fantasy value Walker has left. However, a well-timed hot streak — he’s now homered in back-to-back games — could keep him batting fourth.

The Astros’ offense was stymied by the combination of Cooper Criswell and Boston’s bullpen here. Walker’s solo home run in the second inning was the only home run they’d score as they wasted a fantastic start from Hunter Brown. While it’s been a disappointing first season in Houston for Walker, he had an .833 OPS in July and could have a nice hot streak in him to end the season.