Valdez (6-4) earned the win Friday over the Angels, allowing five hits and a walk while striking out seven over seven scoreless innings.
Valdez has been in peak form over his last three starts, allowing just one run across 22 innings in that span. He's earned a quality start in 10 of his 12 outings this season, including five of his six starts since the beginning of May. Valdez owns a 2.16 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 84:16 K:BB over 79 innings and continues to serve as Houston's staff ace. He's projected for a road start in Toronto next week.
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Astros' Framber Valdez: Collects fifth win
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Valdez (5-4) picked up the win Saturday, allowing one run on four hits and three walks over six innings in a 6-3 victory over the A's. He struck out five.
The southpaw won his third straight decision while producing his ninth quality start in 11 trips to the mound this season -- not a surprising performance after he led the majors with 26 quality starts in 2022. Valdez was impressive in May, posting a 2.18 ERA, 0.91 WHIP and 40:7 K:BB over 33 innings, and he'll look to stay sharp in his next outing, likely to come at home next week against the Angels.
Valdez (4-4) earned the win Sunday, allowing four hits over nine scoreless innings against Oakland. He struck out seven.
Valdez made quick work of the Athletics on Sunday, holding them scoreless through nine innings on 104 pitches. The 29-year-old has been having a career year so far, with a 2.45 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 9.82 K/9 through 10 starts (66.0 innings). Though Valdez hasn't been a strong contributor in the win column, fantasy managers should treat him as an elite fantasy option considering he ranks top 10 in ERA and strikeouts while leading MLB in innings pitched.
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Astros' Framber Valdez: Fans eight in no-decision
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Valdez allowed four runs on seven hits and two walks in Monday's 6-4 win over the Cubs. He struck out eight in four innings and didn't factor into the decision.
Valdez got through three shutout frames before coughing up four in the fourth, including Christopher Morel's three-run shot. Valdez needed 91 pitches (53 strikes) in what ended up being his shortest outing of the year. His ERA jumped from 2.38 to 2.84, though he improved his K:BB to a strong 65:12 across nine starts. Valdez is currently lined up for a home start against Oakland this weekend.
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Astros' Framber Valdez: Dominates across eight innings
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Valdez (3-4) earned the win Tuesday, allowing one run on three hits over eight innings against the Angels. He struck out 12.
Valdez delivered his best outing of the season in a showdown with Shohei Ohtani. Valdez posted season highs in innings and strikeouts, punctuating the evening by sitting down Mike Trout on three pitches in the eighth. Valdez has been a tough-luck loser this season with four losses despite never allowing more than three runs. The Astros offense ranks 27th in OPS, giving Valdez less margin for error so far.
Valdez (2-4) took the loss Wednesday, allowing two runs on five hits and two walks over six innings in a 4-2 loss against the Giants. He struck out eight.
Valdez recorded his sixth consecutive quality start Wednesday, holding San Francisco to just a pair of runs in the sixth inning. However, the 29-year-old left-hander was ultimately outdueled by Logan Webb in the 4-2 loss. Despite his losing record, Valdez has been excellent this season with a 2.60 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 45:10 K:BB. He'll be counted on to continue anchoring Houston's rotation following injuries to Luis Garcia (elbow) and Jose Urquidy (shoulder).
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Astros' Framber Valdez: Takes third loss of season
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Valdez (2-3) took the loss Friday, allowing three runs on eight hits over seven innings against the Phillies. He struck out three and did not walk a batter.
Valdez had another solid outing, but Houston's lack of run support turned it into an undeserved loss. The southpaw has not walked anyone in either of his last two starts, both of which lasted seven innings. The 29-year-old has generally been reliable, posting a 2.54 ERA and 1.15 WHIP to start off the year.
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Astros' Framber Valdez: Picks up loss despite quality start
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Valdez (2-3) took the loss Friday, allowing three runs on eight hits
over seven innings against Philadelphia. He struck out three.
Valdez picked up a quality start, but it wasn't a dominant performance. The lefty allowed eight hits, tying a season high, while striking out a season-low three batters. Kyle Schwarber took Valdez deep in the first inning, the second left-handed batter to homer off the Houston ace this season. Only one lefty hit a homer off Valdez in 2022.
Valdez (2-2) earned the win Saturday, allowing three runs on eight hits without walking a batter over seven innings against Atlanta. He struck out nine.
Valdez pitched around loud contact Saturday. Atlanta hitters had an exit velocity of 95 mph or more on 13 of Valdez's pitches, but six of those resulted in outs. A year after leading MLB in quality starts, the lefty has posted four straight quality starts. Valdez has a 2.25 ERA with 34 strikeouts in 32 innings.
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Astros' Framber Valdez: Falls apart late
Rotowire
Valdez (1-2) allowed five runs (one earned) on four hits and two walks over six innings Sunday. He struck out seven and took a loss against the Rangers.
Valdez faced little resistance from the Rangers through six shutout innings. He then allowed five straight batters to reach base in the seventh without recording an out, including one via error. He was eventually charged with five total runs after Hector Neris allowed a grand slam to Marcus Semien. Valdez forced 13 whiffs, including seven with the curveball, and improved his season K:BB to 25:8 through four outings. He's projected to start in Atlanta next week.
Valdez (1-1) earned the win Monday, allowing two runs on three hits and five walks over seven innings against Pittsburgh. He struck out five.
Valdez battled with his command in this one and issued five walks after tallying only one free pass over his first two starts of the 2023 campaign. Despite this, he worked seven innings and received enough run support to bring home the victory. The 29-year-old has now eaten up seven frames in back-to-back starts and owns a 1.89 ERA and 1.21 WHIP with an 18:6 K:BB across 19 innings so far this season.
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Astros' Framber Valdez: Fans nine in defeat
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Valdez allowed three runs -- two earned -- on eight hits over seven innings in Tuesday's loss to Detroit. He walked one and struck out nine.
Valdez has pitched well in his first two starts of the season, but he hasn't been rewarded with a victory despite giving up a total of two runs in 12 innings (1.50 ERA.) The left-hander threw 66 of 103 pitches for strikes, and outside of Spencer Torkelson -- who drove in three in Tuesday's contest -- the Detroit lineup wasn't able to put much together. Valdez is scheduled to be back on the bump against the Pirates early next week.
Astros' Framber Valdez: Tosses five scoreless frames
Rotowire
Valdez did not factor into the decision Thursday, allowing six hits and zero walks over five scoreless innings against the White Sox. He struck out four.
Valdez yielded six hits in the outing, but only one (a Tim Anderson double) went for extra bases. Last year's MLB leader in quality starts appeared on his way for another to begin 2023, but he was pulled after throwing 85 pitches across five innings. Nonetheless, this was a strong opening to the campaign for Valdez as he looks to put together a second straight All-Star season.
