The two teams tied for the third-best record in the majors will begin a three-game series on Friday night when the Chicago Cubs visit the Houston Astros.
The National League Central-leading Cubs and American League West-best Astros are 48-33. That record is bettered by only the Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Dodgers, both of whom are 51-31.
The Cubs and Astros are coming off wins on Thursday.
Chicago defeated the host St. Louis Cardinals 3-0 to split a four-game series, while Houston completed a three-game sweep over the visiting Philadelphia Phillies with a 2-1 victory The Astros have won 12 of their last 15 games overall and are 30-13 at home this season.
For the Cubs, Shota Imanaga came off the injured list to allow only one hit in five innings on Thursday, and Michael Busch homered.
Imanaga had been out since May 4 with an injured left hamstring. The only hit he allowed was Masyn Winn’s sharp grounder off the glove of shortstop Dansby Swanson.
“He controlled the environment,” Chicago manager Craig Counsell said of Imanaga. “It looked like he’d been out there every single start. I think there’s a tendency to get a little over-amped in starts like that. I think he controlled his effort level really well, and that caused a lot of good execution.”
Busch’s homer is a continuation of his success this month, as he has gone deep six times with 16 RBIs and a .994 OPS. Busch has a batting line of .273/.363/.506 with 13 homers and 46 RBIs for the season.
Houston got a tiebreaking RBI single by Cam Smith with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning on Thursday to beat the Phillies. The Astros completed the sweep despite scoring only five runs in the series.
The Astros’ pitchers allowed only one run in the three games, and it didn’t come until the eighth inning on Thursday.
“We’re playing great baseball on both sides of the ball,” Smith said. “Everybody’s doing their job, everybody’s doing what they can do to the best of their ability and letting the game speak for itself.”
Though he didn’t get a decision, Houston starter Hunter Brown was spectacular on Thursday. He allowed only three hits in seven shutout innings, didn’t walk a batter and struck out nine to lower his ERA to 1.74.
“I think you’ve got a bunch of guys that believe in one another,” Brown said. “I think the way that everybody goes about their preparation, when you start to see results through that preparation, you know you can build some confidence in that. I think that’s what you’re seeing right now.”
Rookie right-hander Cade Horton (3-1, 3.73 ERA) is scheduled to start Friday for the Cubs after recording a pair of no-decisions in his last two outings. It will be his first career start against the Astros.
Left-hander Brandon Walter (0-1, 3.80) will get the nod for the Astros after surrendering seven runs on nine hits — including two homers — in a 9-1 shellacking by the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday.
Walter allowed two runs on six hits in two innings on July 15, 2023, in his lone previous appearance versus the Cubs.
–Field Level Media
