Astros' Christian Walker continues his torment of former NL West foe

DENVER — It didn't take long for Christian Walker to rediscover his swing in one of his favorite MLB ballparks to be a hitter.

Walker, coming off a Houston Astros homestand where he went 3-for-20 at the plate, singled in his first three at-bats in Houston's 6-5 win over the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday night in Denver.

After spending eight seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks before signing a three-year, $60M deal with the Astros in the offseason, Walker is very familiar with Coors Field. He entered Tuesday's game with a .333/.402/.655 slash line in 189 plate appearances in Denver.

Walker's trip to Denver came at a good time for the three-time Gold Glove winner. He finished June with a .221 batting average and 30 strikeouts in 95 at-bats, contributing a lesser-than-expected amount to Houston's 19-7 record in June, the best in all of Major League Baseball.

The 34-year-old Walker has struggled mightily on the road this season, slashing just .185/.241/.289 in 162 plate appearances. However, as can be the case at altitude, Coors Field was the perfect tonic on Tuesday for what has been ailing Walker.

Walker's three hits in his first three at-bats represented just his fourth three-hit game of the season, and his first since a June 11 home game against the Chicago White Sox. All of Walker's three-hit games before Tuesday came in Houston.

In that June 11 game, Walker smacked a two-run, first-inning home run that had an exit velocity of 107.6 mph, marking his hardest hit homer of the season so far.

Also in that game, he logged a season-high four RBI, his most since plating four on July 3, 2024, in Arizona against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Even when Walker didn't get a hit on Tuesday, he still reached base. His hard-hit ball in the eighth inning was not fielded cleanly by Rockies first baseman Michael Toglia, resulting in an error.