Chicago Cubs Score and Recap (6/29/25): Astros 2, Cubs 0: Tough Luck Loss Ends .500 June

The Cubs went into the last day of June just a game over .500 on the month and clinging to a two-game division lead. Winning on Sunday wasn’t a must by any stretch, but it sure would have been a boost heading into July. Instead, just one mistake that wasn’t even a mistake at all cost them a game in which offense was very hard to come by.

Jameson Taillon and Framber Valdez traded four scoreless innings, and the Cubs starter was left in to finish the 5th against Jose Altuve. The diminutive second baseman had struck out twice against Taillon already, so the decision made sense. Or it did until Altuve got hold of a cutter up in the zone and drove it into the Crawford Boxes in left for a two-run homer that produced the only runs of the game.

The radio broadcast described the pitch as being well above the zone and said the homer probably traveled 315 feet, though MLB showed it well within the zone at landing 347 feet from the plate. Either way, it wasn’t a bad pitch by Taillon. Altuve simply put a great swing on it, and that was that. Besides, the Cubs’ inability to score any runs of their own made things academic.

The corner-infield combo of Justin Turner and Jon Berti collected two of their team’s five hits, though neither was able to make anything happen. That’s because the Cubs struck out 11 times with two walks while putting the ball on the ground over 70% of the time. You’re not going to win very often with results like that.

There’s really not much worth talk about with this one, best to just move on and make something happen starting Tuesday. (Box score)

Key Moment

The Altuve homer felt like much more than a two-run shot with the way Valdez was pitching and how Houston’s bullpen locks things down.

Why the Cubs Lost

They failed to score a single run, which makes winning impossible.

Stats That Matter

• Four of the Cubs’ top six hitters struck out twice apiece
• The Cubs were 1-for-9 with RISP
• Ryan Brasier struck out two batters and gave up one hit to lower his ERA to 1.32

Bottom Line

It was a disappointing end to a mediocre month, not much else to say.

On Deck

The Cubs return home for three against the Guardians beginning Tuesday night at 7:05pm CT. Matthew Boyd gets the start against Gavin Williams in a game broadcast nationally on TBS and locally by Marquee and 670 The Score.