Old Friends Visit, Astros Win 7-4 Over Cubs

It was a homecoming of sorts for Kyle Tucker and Ryan Pressly, as the Cubs are in town to play the Astros in a three-game weekend series. Two franchise legends and World Series champions returning, though in different uniforms.

This series has long been circled on my calendar, primarily due to the offseason trades to send Tucker and Pressly to Chicago. For better or worse, the fortunes of this season and beyond between these former division rivals will be impacted by those deals. From Houston’s point of view, the trades helped accomplish two goals: to reduce player payroll, specifically any overage into luxury tax territory, and to help balance out the roster with cost-controlled players.

It was somewhat fitting that both clubs had a 48-33 record in their first 81 games of the season, achieved in different ways. The Cubs, for example, have a top-three lineup in baseball, but the pitching staff is hovering around the middle. For the Astros, it is the opposite, with a top-three pitching staff and a slightly above-average lineup. From a pure matchup perspective, it will be fascinating to see how this series unfolds, considering the strengths of these two rosters.

But Tucker and Pressly on the roster add an emotional factor to this weekend. For as often as star players have left the Astros for other teams in recent years, that first time you see them in a different uniform still hits a bit harder than initially expected. Thankfully, once the pre-game ceremonies and highlight video are over, it goes back to one thing: playing baseball. And the Astros certainly didn’t look like a team too busy reminiscing on Friday night.

Fresh off a three-game sweep of the Phillies, in which Houston scored only five runs, the lineup looked a bit different against Chicago. Most notably, Cam Smith, the former top draft pick of the Cubs last year and the main player in the Tucker trade return, batted clean up for just the second time in his Major League career, and, oh, he delivered.

Thanks in part to Smith’s three-run blast in the fourth inning, the Astros’ lineup scored more in two innings against the Cubs (7) than they did in that entire three-game set against the Phillies (5). Yainer Díaz also had his own three-run dinger in the third inning to help kickstart the scoring. Between those two home runs and a sacrifice fly from Victor Caratini, Houston found themselves with a 7-0 lead.

But this game wasn’t without a little bit of stress. Primarily, it was Jeremy Peña, who was hit in the ribs by a pitch from Cade Horton in the second inning. While he would take another at-bat in the fourth inning, Joe Espada decided to replace him with Mauricio Dubón in the fifth inning. Thankfully, there were no fractures, so Peña seems to be day-to-day for now. The other stress, however, was related to a bullpen that sprung a couple of leaks.

Brandon Walter did rebound from his last start, when he allowed seven earned runs in six innings to the Angels. This time around, he limited the Cubs to only one earned run across six innings, striking out five and walking none on 85 pitches. Walter’s biggest mistake was a solo home run to Nico Hoerner in the top of the fifth. Otherwise, it was an effcient evening. For the bullpen, though, it wasn’t exactly their best night. Kaleb Ort lasted only ¹⁄₃ of an inning, allowing two earned runs. While Steven Okert would get the last two outs of the seventh, Bennett Sousa ran into issues himself, allowing a run in his lone inning of work, but he did strike out three. However, with the game now 7-4, Espada decided it was too close for comfort, so he brought in Josh Hader, who picked up the save.

Saturday’s game will see Lance McCullers Jr. return from the IL and start opposite of Colin Rea. The Astros will look to extend their win streak to six games.

BOX SCORE HERE