Deng Kaiwei pitched two innings in relief, striking out three batters without allowing any runs, while the Astros suffered a sweep by the Cardinals.

Houston Astros pitcher Deng Kaiwei made a relief appearance today, pitching two scoreless innings against the St. Louis Cardinals. He notably struck out Jordan Walker, the National League home run leader, showcasing an impressive performance.

Astros starter Mike Burrows, after two outs in the top of the fifth inning, allowed the Cardinals lineup to score four runs via consecutive hits and a walk. He was replaced after pitching 4.2 innings, and Steven Okert then took over to secure the final out of that inning.

In the top of the sixth inning, trailing 1-4, the Astros decided to bring in Deng Kaiwei to prevent the deficit from widening. He faced the first batter and threw three straight strikes, directly striking out the National League home run leader Walker. Next, he induced Nolan Gorman to ground out. Masyn Winn then hit a soft single, but Deng ended the inning by getting Nathan Church to fly out to left field.

Deng Kaiwei continued pitching in the seventh inning. Although he started by walking Pedro Pagés and allowed a sacrifice bunt to advance the runner to scoring position, he promptly struck out JJ Wetherholt and Iván Herrera. Notably, the decisive pitches for both strikeouts were his signature slider-cutter.

The Astros managed to tie the game in the bottom of the eighth inning thanks to a home run by Yordan Alvarez and a two-run RBI single by Isaac Paredes. However, after entering extra innings, they conceded four runs in the top of the tenth and ultimately lost 5-7.

In this game, Deng Kaiwei pitched two innings, allowing one hit, issuing one walk, striking out three batters, and giving up no runs. His ERA dropped to 1.98.