Framber Valdez is one of the hottest pitchers in the majors, and the left-hander will look to post his seventh consecutive victory when the Houston Astros face the Athletics on Wednesday night at West Sacramento, Calif.
Valdez has struck out 23 batters in 12 innings over his last two starts. Overall, he has won five straight starts and is 6-0 with a 2.02 ERA over his last seven.
Before the two big strikeout outputs, Valdez needed just 83 pitches in a complete-game 2-1 win over the visiting Tampa Bay Rays on May 30. It was the ninth career complete game for the two-time All-Star.
Valdez (7-4, 3.10 ERA) said he prefers the economical approach to his pitch counts than ones inflated due to a large amount of strikeouts.
“I’ve always said that every time I strike out more, that means I throw more pitches,” Valdez told reporters. “That’s why I try to pitch more to contact or try to get more groundouts and flyouts, and that way I last (longer).”
The 31-year-old Valdez struck out a season-high 12 in five innings in a 4-3 victory over the Chicago White Sox last Thursday. He gave up two runs and seven hits.
In his previous start, against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Valdez fanned 11 and allowed two runs and four hits over seven innings.
Valdez will look to help the Astros beat the Athletics for the second straight night. Houston hit five homers while routing the A’s 13-3 on Tuesday, one night after the Athletics posted a 3-1 victory, thanks to a two-run, ninth-inning homer by Nick Kurtz.
Valdez has a solid 2.64 ERA while going 6-4 in 15 all-time appearances (13 starts) against the Athletics. Brent Rooker (2-for-18) and Luis Urias (2-for-4) each have homered off him.
The Astros played “Home Run Derby” on Tuesday. Rookie Cam Smith hit two while Mauricio Dubon, Christian Walker and Cooper Hummel also went deep. Smith went 4-for-5 with three runs and three RBIs. and Dubon was 3-for-3 with two walks and three runs.
The four-hit game was the first for Smith, and the two-homer outing was the second of his 59-game major league career. The homers were his first since April 18. Smith has five overall.
“I think, inevitably, when you get more opportunities and you keep getting in that lineup, you become more comfortable,” Smith said of breaking out of his power drought.
The Athletics had their season-long four-game winning streak halted. Gio Urshela had two of the club’s four hits after being activated off the 10-day injured list prior to the game. He was out with a left hamstring strain sustained on May 22.
The A’s trailed 11-0 before getting on the board in the bottom of the seventh.
“Any time you get behind a good team like that, it’s tough to come back,” Athletics manager Mark Kotsay said.
Right-hander Luis Severino (2-6, 4.47 ERA) will try to cool down the Houston power bats on Wednesday. He pitched six solid innings in a no-decision against the Astros on May 28 when he gave up two runs (one earned) and three hits over six innings.
Severino is 2-4 with a 4.60 ERA in 11 career regular-season appearances (10 starts) against Houston. He was 0-3 with a 4.42 ERA in four postseason starts against the Astros when he was a member of the New York Yankees.
Yainer Diaz is 3-for-7 with two homers against Severino. Jose Altuve (11-for-40) also homered off him.
Severino, 31, defeated the Kansas City Royals 6-4 on Friday when he gave up one run and six hits over 7 2/3 innings, but he has struggled in the Athletics’ temporary home in West Sacramento. He is 0-6 with a 7.10 ERA in nine starts there.
–Field Level Media
