Valdez (1-3) tossed a complete game in Saturday's loss to the Royals, allowing two runs on three hits and two walks while striking out five over eight innings.
Valdez allowed a sacrifice fly for the opening run in the first inning and also gave up a solo home run to Vinnie Pasquantino in the fifth. This was Valdez's fourth quality start in six outings this season. He's also allowed just three homers while maintaining a 4.00 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 31:13 K:BB across 36 innings. He's lined up for a favorable matchup in his next outing, which is projected to be on the road versus the White Sox.
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Astros' Framber Valdez: Bounces back with quality start
Rotowire
Valdez allowed two runs on seven hits and three walks while striking out two in six innings Sunday versus the Padres. He did not factor into the decision.
Valdez exhibited some early command issues with three walks and a run allowed in his first two innings. The Padres put up another run in the third after Fernando Tatis led off the frame with a triple. Valdez settled in with three scoreless frames over the back half of his start and ended at 87 pitches while pounding the zone with 63 strikes. It's been mixed results for Valdez through his first five starts, but he lowered his ERA to 4.50 after allowing seven runs against St. Louis to open up the week. He'll try to get back in the win column for the first time since his debut in a road start versus the Royals over the weekend.
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Astros' Framber Valdez: Hit hard by Cardinals
Rotowire
Valdez (1-2) took the loss against St. Louis on Monday, allowing seven runs (six earned) on 10 hits and one walk while striking out three batters over four-plus innings.
Though Valdez didn't give up any homers, the Cardinals hit the ball plenty hard against him and racked up five doubles. The southpaw ended his outing in poor form, giving up five hits -- including three doubles -- to the final seven batters he faced and exiting in a 6-0 hole. This was Valdez's shortest outing of the campaign, as he had gone at least five frames in each of his previous three starts. It's been a roller coaster for the Astros' ace to begin the season -- he's hurled two scoreless outings, but in his other two starts he's given up a combined 11 earned runs across nine innings.
Astros' Framber Valdez: Dominant in six scoreless innings
Rotowire
Valdez didn't factor into the decision Tuesday against Seattle after allowing two runs and one walk in six innings, striking out eight.
Valdez overcame an illness to take his turn in the rotation Tuesday, dominating the Mariners while pouring in 64 of his 94 pitches for strikes over six shutout frames. Ryan Bliss doubled off the left-hander in the fifth inning, but Valdez left him stranded in scoring position. The southpaw will carry an excellent 2.50 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and 21:2 K:BB across 18 innings (three starts) into his next scheduled appearance in St. Louis, which is tentatively set for early next week.
Valdez (illness) is starting Tuesday's game against the Mariners, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.
The left-hander was dealing with some fatigue and a sore throat over the weekend, but he's ready to take his regular turn through the rotation Tuesday. Valdez delivered seven scoreless frames in his season debut but surrendered five runs over five innings during his most recent start last Wednesday.
Astros general manager Dana Brown said Sunday that Valdez is dealing with some fatigue and a sore throat, putting his status in question for his scheduled turn through the rotation Tuesday in Seattle, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.
The left-hander could still be available to pitch Tuesday, but for now the Astros are leaving Tuesday's starter as "to-be-announced." In his first two starts of the season, Valdez has a 3.17 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 13:6 K:BB across 12 innings.
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Astros' Framber Valdez: Ambushed by Giants early
Rotowire
Valdez (1-1) took the loss after allowing five runs on four hits and four walks in five innings Wednesday against the Giants. He struck out nine.
The star left-hander was ambushed early, promptly serving up a two-run home run to Willy Adames in the first inning. Luis Matos then hit a solo homer in the second, and Heliot Ramos also doubled to drive in a pair of runs later in the frame. Valdez did settle in to throw three scoreless innings thereafter and fanned nine, but overall it was a poor performance after delivering seven shutout frames Opening Day.
Astros' Framber Valdez: Seven shutout frames on Opening Day
Rotowire
Valdez (1-0) picked up the win Thursday against the Mets, striking out four and giving up four hits and two walks across seven scoreless frames.
Valdez got off to a rocky start by allowing one hit and one walk in the first frame, but he managed to escape unscathed and didn't face much resistance over the following six innings. The Astros' shutout was broken in the ninth inning when Josh Hader gave up a sacrifice fly to Francisco Lindor, but the southpaw reliever managed to punch out Juan Soto for the save to give Valdez the Opening Day victory. It's a strong start to the 2025 season for Valdez after posting career bests in 2024 in ERA (2.91) and WHIP (1.11) across 176.1 regular-season frames. He's tentatively slated to face off against the Giants at home next week.
Manager Joe Espada announced Sunday that Valdez will start Opening Day against the Mets on March 27, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.
After posting a career-best 2.91 ERA with a 1.11 WHIP and 169:55 K:BB across 176.1 regular-season innings last season, it was only a matter of time before Espada named Valdez as Houston's Opening Day starter. The left-hander has focused on the movement of his pitches during spring training and overall has pitched well with a 2.53 ERA across 10.2 innings.
Astros' Framber Valdez: Happy with movement on pitches
Rotowire
Valdez allowed three runs (one earned) on four hits and four walks while striking out one in Sunday's Grapefruit League game against the Marlins.
Valdez had a rough outing on the surface, but he built up to 60 pitches before throwing 15 more in a bullpen session. Per Matt Young of the Houston Chronicle, Valdez had no concern about his line, instead noting that he was focusing on the movement on his pitches in favor of trying to rack up strikeouts or precisely hit his spots.
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