Framber Valdez dominates A’s as Astros win 4th straight game

HOUSTON — Framber Valdez threw seven scoreless innings — striking out a season-high eight batters — and made two first-inning runs hold up as the Astros won their season-best fourth game in a row, 3-0, over the A’s on Wednesday night at Minute Maid Park.

The Astros jumped percentage points ahead of the A’s and into third place in the American League West with their sixth win in their past seven games.

Valdez relied heavily on his sinker and curveball and generated 11 ground-ball outs, including a 4-6-3 double play in the third inning, and one flyout. The only two hits he allowed came on a dribbler off the bat of J.D. Davis in the fourth and a two-out single by Shea Langeliers in the seventh.

The performance was huge for the Astros and their overworked bullpen. They had to use five relief pitchers to cover seven innings in Tuesday’s 10-inning win after starter Ronel Blanco was ejected after three innings because of a foreign substance in his glove.

Oakland starter Aaron Brooks, making his first Major League start since 2019, held the Astros to three runs and seven hits in seven innings. Jose Altuve singled and Kyle Tucker doubled to start the first against Brooks and both wound up scoring. A Mauricio Dubón sac fly put the Astros ahead 3-0 in the fourth inning.