Valdez Now Holds Astros’ Consecutive Quality Starts Record

With his performance on Wednesday, Framber Valdez now holds the Astros’ consecutive quality starts record at 21.

Houston Astros ace Framber Valdez has not had a starting pitching outing in which he has gone less than six innings and allowed more than 3 earned runs (known as a quality start) since his April 19th start against the Angels. Starting on April 25 against the Texas Rangers, Valdez has mowed down the competition and has racked up twelve wins, six no decisions, and three losses over the streak.

He has not had an easy schedule either, having faced the White Sox and Guardians twice as well as the Yankees, Mets, Seattle multiple times, and the Blue Jays to date. Valdez’s 21st consecutive quality start breaks the previous Astros franchise record of 20, which was held by Mike Scott from his 1986 season when he won the Cy Young.

Valdez now has the opportunity to tie or beat the MLB record for consecutive quality starts. He made quick work of the Twins on last night, going seven innings and giving up one run.  Bryan Abreu replaced Valdez in the eighth inning since he was at 106 pitches at the end of seven.  Valdez dominated either way, striking out eight and giving up only two hits and four walks while striking out eight. He will likely start next against the Rangers at the end of August, looking to continue his run.

If the Astros switch to a five-man rotation, Valdez will potentially have seven more starts this season and will face the Rangers twice, Angels, Oakland, Tampa Bay, Arizona, and Philadelphia, in that order.  The Rays and Philadelphia could prove to be tough opponents and snap the streak if it’s still alive for those matchups but if Framber were to break the single-season MLB record of 24, it would come against the Athletics.

Valdez is now 13-4 on the season with a 2.65 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, and 142 strikeouts. His previous low ERA for a full season came last year when he ended the year at 3.14 so he could also be on the verge of making several personal best records in the process of his stellar 2022 season.

One unfortunate development during the game was Chas McCormick appearing to dislocate his pinky while diving back awkwardly to first base on a pickoff attempt. However, it was put back into place after the game and his status is day-to-day.