Framber Valdez pitched seven strong innings for his eighth consecutive win, and Yainer Diaz and Jose Altuve hit home runs to lead the Houston Astros to a 2-0 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Sunday.
The win was Houston’s 10th in their last 11 games, pushing the AL West leaders to a season-high 11 games over .500 at 67-56.
Bryan Abreu struck out two batters in the eighth inning, and Josh Hader struck out two more in the ninth to complete the three-hitter. Hader has now saved his last 27 games, setting a franchise record.
Diaz started the sixth inning with a home run to left field off rookie Ky Bush (0-2), giving Houston a 1-0 lead. This came after Diaz had a home run taken away by a great catch from rookie Dominic Fletcher in the first inning.
“It would have been nice to have that early home run, but he made a great play,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “But (Diaz) is putting up some good swings, hitting the ball hard.”
Altuve hit a home run off John Brebbia with no outs in the eighth inning to make it 2-0.
Valdez (13-5) gave up only three singles and struck out nine batters to win his career-best eighth consecutive decision in his last 10 starts. The left-hander, who pitched a no-hitter last season, nearly had another one on August 6 before the Rangers broke it up with two outs in the ninth.
“Really, really, really good. That’s what we expect out of Framber,” Espada said. “Just quality start after quality start. Stuff, it was unbelievable how good it was. Fastball, breaking ball, everything in the zone. A strong performance.”
Nicky Lopez hit a leadoff single, but Valdez retired the next 11 batters. Andrew Vaughn singled with two outs in the fourth inning, but Valdez struck out Korey Lee to end the inning.
Lenyn Sosa got Chicago’s second hit with a single in the fifth inning. Valdez still faced the minimum in that inning after Fletcher grounded into a double play.
Andrew Benintendi singled with no outs in the seventh, and Valdez struck out Vaughn before another double play ended his outing.
