Walker's 2-homer game, Teng's dominant outing lead Astros to shutout victory

CHICAGO -- Kai-Wei Teng threw six scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out six batters, and first baseman Christian Walker belted a pair of home runs to lead the Astros to their second consecutive win over the Cubs at Wrigley Field, 3-0, on Saturday afternoon.

Teng, making his fourth start since being moved from the bullpen, reached a season high in innings pitched and pitches, lowering his ERA to 2.19 in 37 innings. He relied mostly on his sweeper, which he threw 42 times and got seven of his 10 whiffs. He held the Cubs to two hits.

Astros starting pitchers have posted scoreless outings in three of the team’s last four games, posting a 1.57 ERA in 23 innings in that span.

Walker followed a two-out walk to Yordan Alvarez with a two-run home run to left field in the first inning. He led off the fourth with his 13th homer of the season, marking the 14th time in his career he’s had a multi-homer game. Walker added a single in the sixth inning and was intentionally walked in the eighth.

Not all went well for the Astros, who were forced to remove Alvarez in the middle of an at-bat in the sixth inning with back spasms. Prior to Alvarez’s at-bat in the sixth, Astros manager Joe Espada and an athletic trainer talked with the slugger while he was standing on the on-deck circle, where he was preparing to lead off the inning. Alvarez took the at-bat and was removed after fouling off an 0-2 pitch.