Brandon Walter News: Bounces back with first win

Walter (1-1) allowed a run on five hits and struck out five without walking a batter over six innings to earn the win over the Cubs on Friday.

Walter limited the damage to a solo home run by Nico Hoerner in the fifth inning. This was his third quality start in five outings this season, and it was a good bounce-back effort after he was tagged for seven runs over six innings by the Angels last Saturday. Walter is now at a 3.34 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 30:2 K:BB over 29.2 innings. Lance McCullers (foot) will return Saturday, and it's unclear if Walter will stay in the rotation, but he's pitched better than Ryan Gusto if the decision comes down purely to numbers. Walter would be lined up for a road start in Colorado next week if he keeps his place in the rotation.