Astros Pitcher Faces the Minimum in No-Hitter Against Cleveland
Framber Valdez of the Houston Astros threw the second solo no-hitter of the season on Tuesday, shutting down the Cleveland Guardians in a 2-0 win Tuesday night time.
Valdez wanted solely 93 pitches to carve by way of the Cleveland lineup, putting out seven. He confronted the minimal 27 batters as a result of the Astros turned a double play after the lone baserunner he allowed, a stroll to Oscar Gonzalez to steer off the highest of the fifth inning. According to Baseball Reference, it was solely the thirty fourth time in Major League Baseball’s fashionable period during which a pitcher confronted the minimal variety of hitters in a nine-inning no-hitter.
In a Houston franchise with a storied pitching historical past — Nolan Ryan, J.R. Richard, Gerrit Cole and the Cy Young Award winners Mike Scott, Roger Clemens and Justin Verlander — Valdez threw the sixteenth Astros no-hitter. He stands alone, nonetheless, as the one left-hander inside that group. He accomplished the efficiency by inducing a gentle lineout from Guardians catcher Cam Gallagher to shortstop Jeremy Peña.
Valdez’s no-hitter got here simply hours after the passage of M.L.B.’s buying and selling deadline, with a number of groups, together with his Astros, making strikes to raised place themselves for the stretch run. Houston on Tuesday reacquired Verlander, who had signed with the Mets within the low season. Last week, Houston traded with the Chicago White Sox to land the right-handed reliever Kendall Graveman, who helped the staff attain the 2021 World Series.
The Astros have turn into regulars within the American League Championship Series and are hoping to make a 3rd consecutive World Series look, however first they should chase down the Texas Rangers within the A.L. West. Houston trails by solely a half sport, however Texas bolstered its roster forward of the deadline, too, making a cope with the Mets for the right-handed starter Max Scherzer and shoring up its catching depth by including Austin Hedges.
