Valdez (13-11) earned the win against the Athletics on Thursday, allowing one run on seven hits and two walks while striking out 10 batters across seven innings.
Valdez dominated the A's right out of the gate, striking out five of the first six batters he faced, He generated 17 whiffs on 92 pitches (65 strikes) and reached double-digit strikeouts for the fifth time this season. It was a welcome return to form for Valdez, who yielded five earned runs while failing to complete five innings in both of his prior two starts. He'll end the regular season with a 3.66 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and 187:68 K:BB across 192 innings.
Astros' Framber Valdez: Struggles again with control
Rotowire
Valdez (12-11) took the loss in the Saturday's contest against the Mariners, allowing five runs on six hits and four walks over 4.2 innings. He struck out four.
The Houston southpaw issued four free passes for the second consecutive outing, and he's now yielded four or more walks eight times this season across 30 total starts. The Seattle lineup kept peppering Valdez with baserunners and runs, with the fourth inning the only frame in which he didn't allow a run. The 31-year-old lefty has labored since the All-Star break, producing an uncharacteristic 5.63 ERA and 1.47 WHIP across 64 frames. Valdez is currently scheduled to make his final start of the season on the road against the Athletics next week.
Valdez (12-10) took the loss Sunday against Atlanta, allowing five runs on six hits and four walks over four innings. He struck out two.
Valdez's rough stretch continued Sunday -- the southpaw is now 1-6 with a 6.41 ERA in his last eight outings. Overall, Valdez's ERA sits at 3.59 through 29 starts (180.1 innings) this season with a 1.22 WHIP and 173:62 K:BB. Valdez will look to right the ship his next time out, currently scheduled for next week at home against Seattle.
Astros' Framber Valdez: Goes seven innings in loss
Rotowire
Valdez (12-9) took the loss Sunday against the Rangers, allowing four runs (three earned) on five hits and one walk with five strikeouts over seven innings.
Valdez seemed well on his way to a quality start before encountering trouble in the sixth inning. The left-hander struck out a pair of batters to open up the frame before yielding a single, an RBI double and a two-run home run to the next three hitters he faced, respectively. Valdez has struggled since the start of August, owning a 1-5 record, a 5.95 ERA and a 30:14 K:BB across 42.1 innings. He's on track to face Atlanta next weekend.
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Astros' Framber Valdez: Moved up to start Sunday
Rotowire
Valdez will start Sunday's series finale against Texas, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
Luis Garcia had previously been slated to start for Houston on Sunday, but the team decided to go with Valdez instead. Per McTaggart, Garcia isn't dealing with any sort of injury -- the Astros simply decided to move up Valdez's turn in the rotation. It remains to be seen if Garcia will take the mound Tuesday in Toronto for what had been scheduled to be Valdez's next start.
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