Valdez loses no-hitter with 2 outs in 9th on Seager homer as Astros beat rival Rangers 4-2
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Houston pitcher Framber Valdez lost a no-hitter with two outs in the ninth inning when Texas slugger Corey Seager hit a two-run homer in the Astros' 4-2 victory over the Rangers on Tuesday night.
Valdez was on the verge of his second no-hitter in just more than a year when Seager sent the first pitch he saw in the ninth, an 85 mph slider, into the stands in right field. It was Seager's fifth homer in five games.
The 30-year-old left-hander cruised through eight innings but finally began to stumble in the ninth against his Texas rival and the defending World Series champions.
Robbie Grossman drew a leadoff walk on Valdez's 99th pitch, but the 100th was the second Texas double play of the game on Ezequiel Duran's bouncer to Alex Bregman at third.
Josh Smith kept the Rangers alive with another walk, setting up Seager's 24th homer on the 107th pitch from Valdez.
The two-time All-Star was immediately replaced by closer Josh Hader, who walked Marcus Semien before Josh Jung flied out to the base of the wall in right field. It was Hader's 23rd consecutive save, one shy of Brad Lidge's franchise record from 2005.
“I try to always go out there trying to have fun,” Valdez said through an interpreter. “Obviously, sometimes I have got to get serious. Went out there and do what I try to do every single time, try and throw strikes on all my pitches and just try to help help the team win.”
Yordan Alvarez hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning that ended up being the difference. Jake Meyers drove in the first two Houston runs with a pair of RBI singles.
Valdez, whose other no-hitter was a 2-0 victory against Cleveland on Aug. 1, 2023, had a perfect game through five innings, but still faced the minimum of 18 batters through six.
The perfect game ended when Jonah Heim opened the sixth by reaching on third baseman Bregman’s throwing error. Grossman then grounded into a double play before Duran was called out on strikes.
Bregman’s error came when he fielded a high chopper on the run and threw low to first baseman Jon Singleton, who couldn’t make the scoop about a half step ahead of Heim.
Semien walked with two outs in the seventh to finally get a fourth batter to the plate in an inning for Texas, but Jung struck out on three pitches.
Valdez cruised through the eighth with routine flyouts from Wyatt Langford, Adolis García and Heim.
He topped out at 96.9 mph on his fastball, but created plenty of soft contact with plenty of off-speed pitches.
Seager had one of the other hardest-hit outs, flying out to left fielder Alvarez on the warning track for the second out of the fourth inning.
Valdez entered the game 5-0 in his previous seven starts, all Houston victories. He was scratched from his other scheduled start against Texas this season after losing to the Rangers twice in the AL Championship Series last fall.
Tyler Mahle made his first start for Texas, and first since April 2023 coming off Tommy John surgery. The right-hander allowed five hits and a run in five innings. He signed a $22 million, two-year contract in December with the Rangers knowing he would rehab most of the season.
UP NEXT
LHP Yusei Kikuchi (4-9, 4.67 ERA) is scheduled for the Astros in the series finale after tying a franchise record with eight consecutive strikeouts in his Houston debut, a 3-2 victory over Tampa Bay, following a trade with Toronto. Texas RHP José Ureña (3-6, 3.70) is set for his 27th appearance and eighth start.
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