The Houston Astros used an old-fashioned, tried-and-true model of solid starting pitching and clutch hitting to notch a 2-0 win over the Chicago White Sox. Valdez went seven innings, keeping White Sox hitters off-balance with a mix of his curveball and sinker on Sunday afternoon at Minute Maid Park.
Jose Altuve and Yanier Diaz slammed solo home runs for the Astros. With the win, coupled with Seattle’s 10-3 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates, Houston stays four games up in first place in the American League West Division race.
Valdez Was On For Houston Astros
Valdez (13-5) has been on a tear in his last 10 games. He’s 8-0 with a 2.39 ERA in that span. Valdez struck out nine while allowing just three singles. Talk about stepping up big as the Astros’ pitching rotation has been without Justin Verlander and other starters. Because of his staff ace-like work, the Houston Astros have been able to be selective about their bullpen use.
“Really, really, really good. That’s what we expect out of Framber,” Houston Astros manager Joe Espada said. “Just quality start after quality start. Stuff, it was unbelievable how good it was. Fastball, breaking ball, everything in the zone. A strong performance.”
Bryan Abreu pitched a shutout eighth inning and Josh Hader came on to pick up his 27th straight save conversion.
“I feel very proud of all the work that I’ve been able to do and all the work that the team has been able to do,” Framber Valdez said in Spanish through a translator. “And I definitely take pride in being able to go out there and help the team win and just try to be consistent every single time I go out there.”
Diaz smoked a pitch from White Sox starter Ky Bush into the Crawford Boxes in left field. That sixth-inning homer put the Astros up 1-0. Altuve cranked his 16th homer this season in the eighth inning off Chicago reliever John Brebbia.
But Diaz almost had himself a two-homer game. In the first inning with two runners on base, Diaz slammed a Bush pitch to right field. White Sox outfielder Dominic Fletcher leaped above the fence, snagging Diaz’s drive and keeping the Astros off the scoreboard.
“It would have been nice to have that early home run, but he made a great play,” Espada told The Associated Press. “But (Diaz) is putting up some good swings, hitting the ball hard.”
Alex Bregman, who has been dealing with right elbow inflammation, and Yordan Alvarez sat out Sunday’s game, MLB.com reports. Alvarez was given a rest day out of the Houston Astros lineup. The Astros are now 67-56 for the season, winners in 10 of their last 11 games. Astros fans probably are pinching themselves after seeing the team just start off real sluggish. Those days appear to be in Houston’s rear-view mirror.
The injuries, though, have been keeping the Astros from maybe even having a bigger lead. Outfielder Kyle Tucker continues to work hard on coming back from his shin contusion. Verlander has made a couple of minor-league rehab starts and it’s possible he returns to the Astros’ starting rotation very soon.
Houston opens up a three-game series at Minute Maid Park against the Boston Red Sox. Lefthander Yusei Kikuchi (6-9, 4.49 ERA) has been pretty impressive in his starts for the Astros since coming over from Toronto. He’ll go up against Boston righthander Tanner Houck (8-8, 3.01).
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