Houston Astros ace Framber Valdez didn't have a terrible Opening Day start against the New York Yankees, but there were definite areas that needed improvement in the Astros' 5-4 loss to the Bronx Bombers on Thursday.
Valdez was charged with three runs in 4 2/3 innings, but he did make key pitches to escape multiple jams – getting double plays to end three of the first four innings for the Astros.
After the game, Astros manager Joe Espada gave a blunt assessment of Valdez's performance, per the Associated Press:
“Command wasn’t on all day but he still executed pitches when he needed to,” Espada said. “Then at the end there… in the fifth, he just kind of lost the zone a bit. But he competed. He gave us a chance and it was just not the way we wanted to end his outing today.”
Making his Yankees debut, Juan Soto sparked a rally from a 4-0 hole against the Astros, then secured a 5-4 Opening Day Yankees win with an assist from right field on a play at the plate in the bottom of the ninth inning.
The Astros trailed 5-4 with two men on and one out in the bottom of the ninth. Kyle Tucker hit a base hit to right field, and Mauricio Dubón rounded third for home. Soto fielded the ball and threw a strike to Yankees catcher Jose Trevino, who tagged Dubón out at home.
Framber Valdez and the Astros' rotation
The 30-year-old left-hander has emerged as an ace for the Astros over the past few years. He's pitched in exactly 31 games over the past two seasons and has averaged right around 200 innings per year during that span.
Valdez pitched to a 3.45 ERA across 198 innings in 2023. He added a career-high 200 strikeouts. Houston is counting on Valdez to lead the charge in 2024 amid the Astros' injury concerns.
Houston has a fairly deep rotation when healthy. At the moment, though, this rotation has a plethora of injury concerns. The Astros are hoping for a positive update on Jose Urquidy, but even if he returns without issue the Astros still have pitching uncertainty.
Urquidy has a forearm strain and will begin the season on the injured list, Joe Espada said. Asked about the status of his UCL, Espada said the only information he has is that it’s a forearm strain.
It goes without saying, but the Urquidy injury update is far from ideal. Justin Verlander and Lance McCullers Jr. are battling injuries as well, so Houston's pitching rotation has question marks.
As for Verlander, manager Joe Espada said the future Hall-of-Famer will face hitters within the “next day or two,” per Rome.
Verlander wasn't quite able to be ready for the beginning of the season. Still, there is a positive update as Verlander hopes to return as soon as possible. At 41 years old, the veteran is still more than capable of pitching at a high level.
It would not be surprising to see the Astros continue to be linked to starting pitcher as the season gets underway.
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