If fans had any concerns about whether the Houston Astros would be a contender this season, well, the players are putting them to rest. A torrid Alex Bregman homered, Yanier Diaz hit a three-run home run and Framber Valdez did his thing pitching. It all added up to a 6-1 Monday night victory over the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field.
Valdez, coming off a 100-plus-pitch outing against Texas, also reached the century mark in pitches again. Yet Rays hitters managed to get him out after 5 2/3 innings of work. Valdez allowed one earned run and three hits while striking out nine. He had his trusty curveball and sinker working majestically, keeping Rays hitters off-balance.
Houston Astros Get AL West Lead
Valdez (12-5) has been incredibly solid in his last nine starts. He’s now 7-0 with a 2.68 ERA in them. Houston Astros manager Joe Espada had high praise for Valdez, whose last outing saw him bid for a no-hitter.
“Framber’s curve ball has been a game-changer for him the last couple of outings,” Espada told The Associated Press. “It’s gotten better with time. We’re asking him to use it more and he’s been working hard to try and get the location with it.”
The victory put the Houston Astros one-half game up on the Seattle Mariners for first place in the American League West Division. The Mariners had the night off on Monday.
Valdez also was happy with his outing, pointing out what he focuses on entering a start. “Concentration and focus,” he said through a translator. “When you’re focused, you’re locked in, When you do that and work hard, and you’re going to have good results.”
Alex Bregman, coming off a stellar effort at the plate against Boston last weekend, smoked a pitch over the left-field wall in the first inning. Whatever swing issues the Astros third baseman has had appears to have been ironed out. Every Bregman at-bat right now is becoming must-see TV. Yordan Alvarez added two hits to the Astros’ offense.
Both players had a reason to celebrate on Monday. Bregman and Alvarez were named co-AL Players of the Week after smashing a combined nine home runs last week. It was the first honor of its kind for both players this season. Oh, the Monday night win was Houston’s sixth in a row.
Yanier Diaz Remains Big Asset
Diaz slammed his three-run homer over the wall in left-center field off Rays starter Taj Bradley (6-7). Diaz took over everyday catching duties for the Houston Astros after Martin Maldonado wasn’t re-signed by the team. His work behind the plate with pitchers has been a bright spot for the team. Don’t forget about his hitting prowess, either. Diaz has provided an offensive spark from the catcher’s position, something sorely missing while Maldonado was there.
“The more they’ve worked together, the more in-tune they are, the more they understand each other,” Espada said of Valdez and Diaz to Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. “They know how to navigate lineups, they know how to make adjustments. It’s been great to watch.” Taylor Scott and Kaleb Ort came on in relief of Valdez, helping to secure the win. Their work also let relievers Bryan Abreu, Ryan Pressly and Josh Hader have a night off.
With the Monday night win, the Houston Astros are now 63-55 overall. That’s eight games above .500, a new level for this year’s team. In fact, Houston is now 20 games above .500 since April 27. The team has put its sluggish season start behind it. There are still spots, though, that need tightening up and fine-tuning.
“They’re trained to run marathons, and they’re really good at it,” Espada said. “They all lean on each other, they all believe in one another and we all know how to turn the page together and pick each other. Credit to a group of players that just know how to win.”
Yusei Kikuchi (5-9, 4.62 ERA) starts for the Astros against Shane Baz (0-1, 4.30 ERA) for Tampa Bay on Tuesday night. Kikuchi has been impressive in his starts for Houston after coming over from the Toronto Blue Jays in a trade. The Houston Astros hope he can continue to keep hitters off-balance, too.
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