The Athletic has live coverage of Astros vs Rangers in Game 7 of the ALCS.
HOUSTON — Emotion can be Framber Valdez’s worst enemy. He has spent so much of his career trying to control it, whether with breathing exercises, extra time between pitches or consultations with one of the Houston Astros’ sports psychologists prior to each of his starts.
Advertisement
Valdez’s maturation since his rookie season is noticeable but nowhere near complete. His lapses are less frequent, and he’s made two consecutive American League All-Star teams as a result.
Still, apprehension accompanies each of his starts, when one poorly executed pitch, botched defensive play or questionable call can cause Valdez to crumble.
The Texas Rangers have already seen it twice this season. On July 26, Valdez started a game that first stoked tensions between the intrastate rivals. Friday’s benches-clearing incident during Game 5 of the American League Championship Series continued them.
Valdez will start Game 6 on Sunday against a backdrop of brewing discontent between the two clubs, some of which he created.
During that July start at Minute Maid Park, Valdez struck Marcus Semien in the right shoulder with a first-pitch fastball after Texas starter Andrew Heaney hit Yordan Alvarez with a pitch in the first inning. Valdez surrendered six earned runs and eight hits across 3 2/3 innings.
Benches cleared later in the game after Semien and Astros catcher Martín Maldonado exchanged words at home plate. Adolis García stepped between the two men during that altercation. After Friday’s fracas, Maldonado said he doubted that incident had any bearing on the teams’ most recent melee.
Back at home. pic.twitter.com/uxFt1aEgb6
— Houston Astros (@astros) October 21, 2023
Semien, however, did not forget Valdez’s midseason meltdown. He struck two singles against Valdez during Texas’ 5-4 win in Game 2 of the ALCS. Texas scored five times against Valdez in 2 2/3 innings, inflating Valdez’s season ERA to 5.59 in 19 1/3 innings against the Rangers.
“We played a game earlier this year, we all talked about it, that was a regular-season game, this is an ALCS game. It’s always going to be in the back of my mind, especially when somebody hits you on purpose. You’re always going to remember that,” Semien said after Game 2.
Advertisement
“But we still have a series to play. Today is over. We got the win. We did what we needed to do to beat Framber.”
Texas hasn’t won since but will arrive Sunday with that same intention. There will “probably” be carryover from the chaos in Game 5, Astros manager Dusty Baker said Saturday.
For Houston to win a pennant, Valdez cannot precipitate the chaos. Harnessing his focus and emotion is always paramount, but this start — with so much at stake and so much angst around it — will be the ultimate test.
“I’m just going to try to do what I did in the regular season, just try to throw strikes, try to attack the strike zone and get outs,” Valdez said Saturday through an interpreter. “And like you said, just try to control my emotions. I think I’ll be able to do that, try not to play with too much pressure or anything like that. I have to admit there will be emotions, but it’s my job to be really calm.”
Bryan Abreu’s two-game suspension will only heighten tensions and could cause umpires to issue warnings before the game even begins. Valdez, who can be prone to hitting batters with his breaking ball, said he will not be thinking about pitching carefully to avoid a possible hit by pitch or repercussions.
“When you try to go up there and you’re trying to be way too cautious is when things go wrong,” Valdez said. “My job is to go out there, get on the mound, attack the strike zone, throw strikes, throw the ball how I know I can throw it. If I let go of the ball, obviously you can’t control the results, things happen from there. But knowing what happened (Friday) and everything like that, just try to hit the strike zone, have fun and try to do everything by the book, try to do things the right way.”
Valdez is not a big-game novice. Last season, he struck out nine across six innings of one-run ball during Houston’s World Series-clinching win against the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 6. He held the Boston Red Sox to one run across eight innings at Fenway Park in Game 5 of the 2021 ALCS.
Advertisement
Those performances demonstrate Valdez’s ability to minimize a moment and maintain his composure on the sport’s biggest stage. This October, he has not shown it. During his first two postseason starts, Valdez surrendered 10 runs and 14 hits across seven innings.
“Framber’s pitched big games before. I think we’re making a lot out of Framber’s emotions. In the last couple of games, it wasn’t so much his emotions, it was his location,” Baker said Saturday. “He wasn’t sharp.”
Valdez added: “As a human, sometimes I just give it too much thought. Start thinking about it and then get out of my game. I just need to focus. I think we’re in a really good spot right now.”
GO DEEPER
Astros silenced by ALCS loss: 'It was just weird seeing the other guys celebrate'
(Photo: Daniel Shirey / MLB Photos via Getty Images)
