Valdez’s bid goes to waste
Rookie starter allows a run in five innings, but bats turn silent
Framber Valdez is starting to look like he has more than beginner’s luck on his side.
The lefthanded rookie, called up as a substitute for the injured Lance McCullers Jr., displayed dramatic tail on his two-seam fastball and composure through five scoreless innings against the Angels on Friday night.
His night ended with a leadoff walk to Kole Calhoun in the sixth. Calhoun scored to represent only the second run charged to Valdez in his 141⁄3 innings this season. But Valdez (2-1, 1.26 ERA) would take the first loss of his career because the rest of the Astros were not so fortunate.
Unfavorable strike calls upset their offense and got their manager ejected. Collin McHugh, who relieved Valdez, let Calhoun score and Andrelton Simmons line a two-run homer for a sixth-inning
ambush the Astros could not match. The Angels held on to win 3-0.
The Angels have taken the first two of four games against the Astros this weekend at Minute Maid Park. Out of the Astros’ 13 hits, only Tyler White’s home run in the ninth inning Thursday produced runs. On Friday, they could not drive in leadoff runners that reached base in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings.
Valdez allowed two hits, walked three and struck out three. Eight groundouts evinced the reliability of his sinking fastball. He lost the feel for it only briefly in the third. He let the eighth and ninth hitters reach base. Then he fell behind 2-0 in the count to Calhoun.
Catcher Martin Maldonado and shortstop Carlos Correa walked to the mound to shepherd the rookie. The talk worked. With the count full, Calhoun whiffed over a sinking fastball and Valdez followed through the pitch with a 360-degree spin to celebrate.
Another sinker came rolling back to Valdez. He turned a 1-4-3 double play.
“Unfortunately his last batter, with the walk, kick-started an inning that got out of control for us,” manager A.J. Hinch said.
McHugh unraveled immediately in the sixth. He overthrew a pickoff attempt, which advanced Calhoun to second. He ceded a soft single to David Fletcher and then Simmons’ ninth home run.
Entering the game, Jose Altuve’s .349 average against the Angels was the highest of any batter with at least 200 at-bats against them. Angels starter Jaime Barria (9-8, 3.46 ERA) mitigated Altuve’s threat, in part because of calls from plate umpire Eric Cooper.
Barria struck out the side, which included Altuve, in the first inning. Altuve watched a slider dart away for a called third strike.
With Maldonado and George Springer on the corners in the third, Altuve loomed as the Astros’ best chance to break through with two outs. Again Barria threw a slider — lower — that did not tempt Altuve. In both atbats, according to StatCast charts and the naked eye, the sliders finished outside the strike zone. Altuve proceeded to line out to left field and strand the runners.
Altuve had voiced his displeasure, but after the inning Cooper re-engaged Altuve.
Before their conversation could boil over, Hinch left the dugout.
“I’m defending Altuve every inch of the way,” Hinch said. “Me getting run out of the game is ridiculous.”
Hinch was ejected, but his players’ disapproval of Cooper continued. Marwin Gonzalez vociferated after a call and, after grounding out, glared at Cooper on a slow walk to the dugout.
Gonzalez perched at the top of the dugout steps and stared at Cooper past the final out of the inning.
The Astros took issue with at least two more strike calls — one to Springer with men on base and another to Yuli Gurriel in the ninth. Neither Altuve nor Correa was available for postgame interviews.
After Justin Anderson, a graduate of St. Pius X, overwhelmed his childhood favorite team for a second consecutive game, the Astros fared better against rookie righthander Ty Buttrey.
Josh Reddick singled to center, and Tony Kemp put runners in scoring position with a double to right field. Buttrey struck out Springer, but he walked Alex Bregman to load the bases.
Altuve had his chance for redemption. “M-V-P!” chants rose and petered out from pitch to pitch.
“I had a lot of adrenaline,” said Buttrey, who threw his hardest pitches of the season.
Buttrey got ahead in the count. Then he paired a 100 mph fastball with a disappearing slider. Altuve whiffed to finish his night 0-for-4.
Correa battled Buttrey. The count reached 3-2. A final 99 mph fastball from Buttrey popped up off Correa’s bat. It landed in the glove of first baseman Jefry Marte and quieted a disappointed crowd. A mass exodus began.
Angels closer Blake Parker needed 26 pitches and a double play, but he cleared the ninth for his 13th save.
“We just didn’t have it tonight,” Hinch said.