HOUSTON, TX — After a rough five games, the Houston Astros finally clawed their way back into the win column against the New York Mets on Tuesday night. Framber Valdez outpitched Justin Verlander as the Astros’ pitcher outdueled his former teammate to halt Houston’s 5-game skid and claim the 4-2 victory.
Jose Altuve’s RBI sac fly in the bottom of the 3rd inning marked the first signs of offense in the pitchers’ duel. Houston took the lead, 1-0, with one on and two outs. Then Alex Bregman stepped up to the plate. 0-11 in his career against Verlander, Bregman finally put one over on his former teammate when he blasted a line drive home run over the left field wall at Minute Maid Park. The 2-run RBI gave the Astros a 3-0 lead headed to the 4th inning.
“A bit frustrated, a 3-0 homer,” Verlander said. “I know Breggy does his homework and just sold out for a heater there. So that’s on me. Should have known a little better.”
Houston scored another run in the bottom of the 7th, with Corey Julks on second with two outs. Altuve stepped up and earned his second RBI of the contest when he singled off a slow curveball from Verlander up the middle into shallow center field. Houston took a commanding 4-0 lead headed to the 8th inning.
New York finally scored in the top of the 8th. Tommy Pham and Francisco Alvarez both got on base before Jeff McNeil scored Pham on a sacrifice fly. Eduardo Escobar then hit a single to score Alvarez before Valdez finally made it out of the 8th. His evening finished there, but what a game he had. Watch Valdez's full game highlights below.
Valdez allowed four hits and two runs with nine strikeouts to leave his ERA at 2.27, which ranks second in major league baseball.
“He was great,” Astros manager Dusty Baker said. “He gave us all he had.”
Houston Astros Framber Valdez
(Credit: morganton.com)
The Astros closer, Ryan Pressley, pitched the 9th inning to secure the victory. Verlander, who helped Houston to two World Series titles, allowed eight hits and four runs in seven innings for the Mets in his first outing against his former team. The Astros corrected a 5-game skid in the win but still sit 4-6 in their last ten games. Hopefully, the win on Tuesday night will be the turnaround the defending champs need, but at 3rd place in the AL West, Houston has work to do.
“I hope we don't go through a streak like that the rest of the year,” Baker said. “It seemed like we hadn't won in a month.”
Up next, the Astros finish their 3-game series against the New York Mets in Houston on Wednesday afternoon at 1:10 p.m.
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