Framber Valdez’s Best Moments With the Astros

Here are five of his best moments in an Astros uniform. 

2022 World Series Game 6

This stands as Valdez’s greatest career moment. Hee delivered on the biggest stage of his life. Valdez was the starting pitcher in a World Series title-clinching game and was the winning pitcher. The Astros were up 3-2 in the series over the Phillies and returned home looking to win their second championship. 

Valdez put together a special performance that will go down in Astros history. He went six innings on 93 pitches and only gave up two hits and one earned run along with nine strikeouts and just two walks. That set up Yordan Alvarez’s legendary 450-foot three-run homer for the lead in the bottom of the sixth. 

It wasn’t just one game; Valdez was clutch in the entire 2022 postseason with a 1.44 ERA in four games with a perfect 3-0 record. He pitched 25 innings and only gave up four earned runs along with 33 strikeouts and a 0.88 WHIP. That included 6.1 innings of one-run ball and nine strikeouts in Game Two of the World Series. He had two out of the four wins in that Fall Classic. Valdez also threw a seven-inning shutout against the Yankees in the ALCS. 

No-Hitter Against the Guardians

This was his shining moment in the regular season. Valdez was an All-Star in 2023 and showed why. On August 2nd, 2023, Valdez threw the 16th no-hitter in Astros history in a 2-0 win over the Cleveland Guardians in Daikin Park. Valdez threw just 93 pitches, with 65 of them for strikes, and only allowed one walk. He became the first Astros left-hander to throw a no-hitter and was the first to throw an individual no-hitter since Verlander in 2019. 

The most significant part was that Valdez became the first player in Astros history to throw a no-hitter while facing the minimum 27 batters.  

2021 ALCS Game 5

While Valdez struggled for most of the 2021 postseason, his performance in game five of the ALCS was so crucial for the Astros to eventually make the World Series that season. The ALCS was tied at 2-2, and Valdez put on an exceptional road pitching performance against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.

Valdez went eight innings deep on just 93 pitches, 62 for strikes. He gave up three hits and one walk while surrendering one earned run and also threw five strikeouts. This was the only win of the 2021 postseason for Valdez, but he gave the Astros a much-needed victory to go up in the series 3-2 and eventually win the pennant in the next game. 

All-Star Game Win

Valdez was the first pitcher in Astros history to win the All-Star Game. He threw a perfect 11-pitch third inning in the American League’s 3-2 win back in 2022. That was his first All-Star selection. Astros manager Dusty Baker was leading the AL that season and planned to pitch Valdez in the third. The southpaw faced a tough part of the National League lineup at that time in Juan Soto, Manny Machado, and Freddie Freeman. 

While he got behind each hitter in the count, Valdez’s sinker showed up as it usually does and forced ground balls. A big reason why Valdez started to take the next step was his mindset and confidence. He took counseling from the Astros sports psychologist throughout the year to calm down and lock in during the biggest moments. 

2020 ALCS Game 6

While Valdez won his first postseason start at the Minnesota Twins in the wild-card round, this was the standout of his breakout 2020 season. Valdez officially came onto the scene that season because the Astros needed some pitching depth due to injuries. He was one of the young pitchers to step up in that shortened season. 

Game Six of the 2020 ALCS was an elimination game for the Astros. Houston was down 3-2 in the series, and Valdez helped keep their season alive for another day. Valdez gave up just three hits and one run in six innings pitched, along with nine strikeouts. That was his third career postseason win. 

A famous moment in this was Carlos Correa coming up to the mound and encouraging the young pitcher to keep going. That helped Valdez’s confidence.