Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (6/27/25): Astros 7, Cubs 4 – Horton Hammered in Houston
The Cubs traveled to Texas to take on the Astros Friday night at Daikin Park. Houston played better baseball most of the night and eventually blew the game open before hanging on to win.
Cade Horton managed to wriggle out of major jams in the first two innings, but was not so lucky in the bottom of the 3rd. The young Chicago starter gave up a sacrifice to old friend Victor Caratini, then Yainer Diaz hit a three-run homer to put the Astros in front 4-0.
Houston struck again in the 4th inning when Cam Smith launched a three-run home run — and a million hot takes — to put the home team ahead 7-0. Nico Hoerner did the only damage against starter Brandon Walter with a solo shot in the 5th to cut the deficit to 7-1.
Matt Shaw doubled home a pair of runs against Kaleb Ort in the 7th to get the North Siders within 7-3. The rookie third baseman added a second RBI double in the 9th to force the Astros to use Josh Hader to close out the 7-4 victory. (Box score)
Key Moment
The Cubs got away with giving Houston all kinds of free baserunners early in the game, but they tried again in the 3rd and paid the price by giving up four runs.
Why the Cubs Lost
A bad starting pitching performance put them in a hole they could not get out of.
Stats That Matter
- This was Horton’s worst outing in the majors: 4 IP, 7 R, 8 H, 2 K, 4 BB.
- It was nice to see Shaw get a couple of extra-base hits.
- Chris Flexen pitched the final four innings to save the rest of the bullpen Friday.
Bottom Line
The Cubs have to play better if they are going to hang with a team as good as Houston. Kyle Tucker is a very good player and the Cubs had to give up good players to get him. Those guys displayed their abilities in Friday’s game, but it might be a bit more painful to see their success if the Cubs fail to re-sign Tucker after the season.
On Deck
Game two of the series is Saturday night at 6:15pm CT. Colin Rea faces off against Lance McCullers Jr. in a game televised exclusively on FOX with the radio feed on 670 The Score.
