Astros vs Cubs Recap: Houston Surges to 8-5 Win

The Astros came to Chicago hungry. They'd lost the night before, 3-0, and needed to answer back. The Cubs were struggling too. They'd lost eight straight games and looked tired at Wrigley Field. Houston jumped on starter Shota Imanaga early. In the second inning, Jake Meyers crushed a fastball 388 feet into left field for a solo shot. The ball exploded off his bat like a rocket. The Astros led 1-0. But the Cubs answered right back. Pedro Ramirez doubled to right, scoring Moises Ballesteros. Pete Crow-Armstrong lifted a sacrifice fly to center that brought Kelly home. Suddenly it was 2-1 Cubs after just two innings. The game felt alive. Both teams refused to quit.

Houston's offense exploded in the fifth inning. Nick Allen came up in the third and sent another Imanaga fastball soaring 367 feet over the left field wall. That made it 2-2. Then came the big moment. Jeremy Pena stepped up with runners on and smacked a single to center that scored Zach Dezenzo and Cam Smith. The bases were alive. Christian Walker walked up next. He looked locked in. Walker took a splitter and crushed it 426 feet to left-center field. The ball flew over the wall with two runners on base. Houston had four runs in that inning. The scoreboard read 7-3 Astros. Imanaga was done. Peter Lambert had pitched five strong innings for Houston to get the win.

The Cubs never quit fighting back. Michael Busch blasted a homer to left-center in the seventh inning that scored Pete Crow-Armstrong. That made it 7-5 and gave Chicago hope. The Cubs were still very much in the game. Houston's bullpen took over in the late innings. AJ Blubaugh and Bryan Abreu held the line. Nick Allen added one more run in the ninth with a single to right that scored Cam Smith. The final score read 8-5, Houston. The Astros improved to 24-31 with this road victory. They won their third straight game. The Cubs dropped to 29-25 and fell to their ninth consecutive loss. Houston's bats had done the damage. Five different Astros hit home runs. That power surge was too much for Chicago to overcome.