Framber Valdez Throws Seven No-Hit Innings, Astros Walk Off Royals 3-2

On May 20, Framber Valdez decided to go rogue in the fifth inning against the Angels, and it didn’t end well to the tune of eight runs in five innings. It was a disappointing development, especially for a rotation already on the brink in terms of depth. But at his best, Valdez is likely the Astros’ top starting pitcher. The occasional clunker happens, though. But that occasional clunker was also becoming increasingly frequent dating back to June 2023. That poor start against the Angels, however, did beg the question of whether this trend would arise again in 2024.

Well, Valdez has been on a tear in the last three-plus months. Entering his start against the Royals on Friday in Houston, the left-hander has posted a 2.83 ERA and 2.87 FIP in his last 101 ²⁄₃ innings. He has allowed more than three earned runs in a start only twice since May 27, once against the Giants and another time against the Pirates. For as much praise as Hunter Brown and Spencer Arrighetti deserve for their recent performances, Valdez has reestablished himself as the steady veteran who you could bank on every fifth day.

Friday was mostly about the back-and-forth pitching duel between Houston and Kansas City. Against the Royals on Friday, Valdez continued to provide that stability. In fact, he was arguably at his most masterful, or pretty close to it, once again. This time, seven no-hit innings, allowing three walks while striking out seven. 15 whiffs on 48 swings. His second no-hit bid through at least seven innings this month. An exclamation point for a successful August. Seth Lugo was also excellent, striking out nine Astros hitters while allowing only one run — Ben Gamel’s solo home run — in the third inning.

There was a time when it looked like the Astros would ultimately win this game by the slim margin of 1-0. But Josh Hader would blink in the ninth and allow Paul DeJong’s two-run dinger to blow the save. It was also Hader’s first earned runs allowed in August, so he was due. But it doesn’t help matters when Jeremy Peña has his sixth error in 11 games or something like that. This time, it was his throwing error that allowed Bobby Witt Jr. to reach first base that set up DeJong’s home run.

And, just like that, the Astros were facing a 2-1 deficit in the bottom half of the ninth. While Gamel would ground out for the first out, Jake Meyers would reach first base on a single with Jon Singleton and Jose Altuve due up. Singleton would fly out, but there was still Altuve to watch. Well, he did something we’ve become accustomed to with him throughout his career: Another walk-off hit. This time it was a double off the top of the Crawford Boxes that allowed Meyers to score from first base.

With the Mariners winning their game against the Angels, the Astros didn’t add to their four-game lead in the AL West. But another day without surrendering ground to Seattle isn’t a bad consolation prize entering the weekend.