Houston Astros pitcher Framber Valdez posted a tremendous performance on Friday, throwing a complete game for his club. Houston defeated the Tampa Bay Rays, 2-1, behind the hurler's dominating outing.

Following the game, Astros manager Joe Espada pointed to a specific moment as a turning point for his hurler.

“Once he gave up that homer, he got really pissed off,” Espada said, per the Houston Chronicle. “And his stuff just got better. He said, ‘They’re not going to touch me anymore.’”

Valdez finished the night allowing one earned run through nine innings. He struck out nine batters, while also giving up a walk.

The Astros are now first in the American League West, with a 31-26 record. There are four teams within five games of first in the division.

Framber Valdez hopes to build on this momentum for Astros

Houston needs more outings like this from Valdez. The club has a lot of competition in the division this season, and Valdez is one of the club's most experienced pitchers.

Valdez has a 5-4 record on the season. He has also posted a 3.12 ERA for the club.

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“Sometimes there’s things that motivate you to have a good outing,” Valdez said through an interpreter. “I think he ran with a little bit of luck on that second pitch. And yeah, I said, ‘This is the last run they’re going to (score) off me. This is the last hit that they’re going to hit off me.’ So that motivated me for the rest of the game.”

The Astros pitcher got the job done with only 83 pitches. He threw nine or fewer pitches in six innings of the game. That was truly impressive.

“I think it’s one of my best outings in my career so far,” Valdez added.

Vadlez's manager agrees with that assessment.

“Once you work that fast, your defense is on their toes and everybody’s engaged,” Espada said. “I think he controlled the game very, very well.”

The Astros and Rays play again on Saturday. Tampa Bay is now 29-28 on the campaign.