Since his blown save against the New York Yankees on June 23, Ryan Pressly has been the best closer in baseball. The 33-year-old has kept the bases clear for seven-straight appearances with 14 strikeouts.
Pressly closed the door on the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday night with a two-inning save — his longest outing since May 6, 2021. The righty fanned three batters to shut down the Halos.
Pressly followed two-scoreless innings from Héctor Neris and Rafael Montero who bridged the gap from Framber Valdez's 15th-consecutive quality start. Valdez worked six innings in a no-decision with two earned runs on six hits and three walks.
The lefty fanned six batters and improved his ERA to 2.66 in his last start prior to the All-Star Game. Walks and pitch efficiency continued to plague Valdez's longevity as the lefty tossed 31 pitches in the third inning.
Valdez walked Jonathan Villar with the bases loaded, scoring Shohei Ohtani from third. The second earned run came across in the bottom of the fourth on a passed ball from Martín Maldonado — his second this week and his eighth this season, leading Major League Baseball.
Korey Lee pinch ran for Maldonado at the start of the 10th. Mauricio Dubón advanced Lee to third on a sacrifice flyout to right field, before Jeremy Peña drove Lee home on a single to the right side.
Peña scored with Altuve in the first inning, too. Aledmys Díaz drove in the rookie from third on a fielder's choice to first baseman David MacKinnon in an impact first inning against Reid Detmers.
The Astros open a three-game series with the Oakland A's at 7:10 p.m. Friday before the All-Star Break begins Monday. José Urquidy will start in place of Jake Odorizzi — who left Los Angeles Thursday to avoid the early flight Friday, per Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle.
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