Houston Astros first baseman Christian Walker is expected to be back in the lineup on Sunday after a scary moment in Saturday's game against the Boston Red Sox. Walker was struck in the head by a 93.3 mph fastball from Red Sox left-hander Tyler Samaniego during the ninth inning of Houston's 6-3 victory.

"That's always not a great situation, but I'm feeling OK," Walker said after the game. "I think the helmet took most of it. Turning away from it hopefully made it more of a glancing blow than a straight impact."

The incident occurred when Samaniego's fastball hit Walker's helmet, causing a piece of the protective gear—likely the C-flap that guards the jaw—to fly off. Despite the impact, Walker managed to walk off the field with a towel pressed to the left side of his forehead, assisted by a trainer.

Astros manager Joe Espada confirmed that Walker did not suffer a cut. "Scary," Espada said. "When he kind of moved his head, the helmet kind of came loose and the ball kind of got some of the forehead area, but no blood."

Walker, who was wearing his hat low over his forehead during postgame interviews, has already cleared concussion protocol and is optimistic about playing on Sunday. "Yeah, I'm planning on it," he said. "I just went through all the concussion stuff, so I don't see an issue with that. As long as I don't wake up with some crazy neck stiffness or something like that, I plan on being in there."

Before the scary moment, Walker had a standout performance at the plate, hitting a solo home run, collecting three hits, and driving in two runs to help the Astros bounce back from a loss in the series opener on Friday. His resilience and quick recovery are a testament to his toughness, and fans will be watching closely to see if he takes the field on Sunday.