christian walker left Saturday's game at Fenway Park after a 93.3 mph pitch hit him in the head in the ninth inning. Braden Shewmake replaced him after Walker's helmet shattered.
Walker’s 3-for-4 night
The Astros first baseman was 3-for-4 before exiting and had already driven in two runs. He also hit his eighth home run of the season, a solo shot that came before the ninth-inning sequence ended his night.
Walker entered with a.309 batting average, a.963 OPS and 26 RBIs, numbers that put his at-bat results near the center of Houston's attack. The pitch came from left-hander Tyler Samaniego, and the contact arrived in a game the Astros still had to finish against Boston.
Astros and Red Sox split
Houston beat Boston 6-3 to split the first two games of the series. That left the Astros at 12-21 and fourth in the AL West, while the Red Sox fell to 13-19 and fifth in the AL East.
The rubber match between the teams was set for 1:35 p.m. ET on Sunday. For Houston, the immediate issue was Walker’s condition after the head impact and the abrupt switch to Shewmake in the final inning.
