Connect with us

Baseball

Framber Valdez records NO-NO in H-Town

Framber Valdez throws no-hitter in Astros 2-0 win over Guardians on Tuesday night at Minute Maid Park. Valdez was a finalist for the 2022 American League LatinoMVP Starting Pitcher award - Image Credit: Houston Astros/MLB

A NO-NO IN H-TOWN! On Tuesday night at Minute Maid Park, Astros left-hander Framber Valdez made history by throwing a no-hitter, or as many call it, a NO-NO! 

The 29-year-old, of Palenque, Dominican Republic, threw the 16th no-hitter in Astros franchise history and is the first-ever southpaw to accomplish the feat. 

“I feel great, thanks to God,” Valdez said through a team-interpreter following the 2-0 win over Cleveland. “Thanks to my catcher. My team, who did a great job. I was very grateful for this.”

Valdez is the ninth Dominican-born pitcher to throw a no-hitter/perfect game in MLB history. Provided below is the full list with each of their respective birthplaces, dates of no-hitter/perfect game and more — courtesy of Héctor Gómez of Z101digital. 

Juan Marichal — Laguna Verde, D.R. 

(SF) vs Houston, on June 15, 1963

Ramón Martínez — Santo Domingo, D.R. 

(LAD) vs Marlins, on July 14, 1995

José Jiménez — San Pedro de Macoris, D.R. 

(STL) vs Arizona, on June 25, 1999

Ubaldo Jiménez — Nagua, D.R. 

(COL) vs Atlanta, on April 17, 2010

Francisco Liriano — San Cristobal, D.R. 

(MIN) vs White Sox, on May 3, 2011

Ervin Santana — San Cristobal, D.R. 

(LAA) vs Cleveland, on July 27, 2011

Édinson Vólquez — Barahona, D.R. 

(MIA) vs Arizona, on June 3, 2017

Domingo Germán — San Pedro de Macoris, D.R.

(NYY) vs Oakland, on June 28, 2023

Framber Valdez — Palenque, D.R. 

(HOU) vs. Cleveland on August 1, 2023

Framber Valdez and Martín Maldonado celebrate no-hitter in Houston – Image Credit: Houston Astros/MLB

Back to Tuesday evening: Valdez was actually able to go 27 up, and 27 down — facing a minimum of 27 batters with seven strikeouts and a walk. To zone in on his performance, in the visiting half of the fifth, Valdez surrendered a lead-off walk to Oscar Gonzalez, which was followed up with a David Fry pop-fly, and ground-ball double-play off-the-bat of Will Brennan to end the inning. 

About the ninth inning, Valdez said: “I felt good. When I went out there, I went out there with confidence, and confidence in my team. This is a united team. This is a great team.”  

All together, the two-time All-Star finished off his outing on just 93 pitches, 65 for strikes — the least amount of pitches thrown in a no-hitter/perfect game since Yankees’ David Cone, who threw 88 pitches against the Montreal Expos on July 18, 1999. 

“The biggest thing is just all about the focus,” Valdez said about his low pitch-count. “Just learn how to pitch hard, and focus with the combination of (Martín) Maldonado here.” 

His mindset on-the-mound and in life: “You know, just focus. Focus and sacrifice. A lot of hard work on-the-field, and a lot of hard work on myself.” 

Astros React to Valdez’ NO-NO!

“It’s a wonderful day,” manager Dusty Baker said. “(Valdez) started out with a bang. He had his breaking ball from the very beginning … and you could tell he was on and he stayed on.” 

“He was straight business from the moment he walked out there,” Maldonado said. “Just Framber being Framber.”

Overall, What A Day In H-Town! 

Prior to Valdez’ No-No on Tuesday evening, with less than four hours until the end of MLB’s Trade Deadline at 6:00 pm ET, the Astros made a blockbuster deal with the New York Mets, headlined by the three-time Cy Young award winner, and two-time World Series champion, Justin Verlander. The trade package featured the future Cooperstown Hall of Famer Verlander returning back to Houston with money considerations in exchange for the Astros No. 1 and No. 4 ranked prospects: OF Drew Gilbert and OF Ryan Clifford.  

Justin Verlander returns to Houston and is set to make his first start back against the Yankees in the Bronx this weekend – Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports

Ultimately, Houston has their eyes set on October baseball with the starting pitching trio of Valdez, Verlander, and Cristian Javier (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic). The same three pitchers, who all played significant roles in the Astros capturing the 2022 World Series championship.

Check out our LatinoMVP Interview with Framber Valdez – LINK

Robert Rizzo is a journalist and co-editor of Latino Sports – Email: RobertRiz994@gmail.com

Follow us on Social Media for updates and exclusive content

Instagram: @latinosportsoficial

Facebook: Latino Sports

Twitter: @latinosports

4 Comments

4 Comments

  1. Julio

    August 2, 2023 at 12:05 pm

    And historic for Puerto Rico as Martin “Machete” Maldonado was the catcher for this no-hitter. Pitchers are given all the credit for pitching no hitters, but some credits have to also be given to the fathers who called & guided those pitchers on each pitch.

  2. Pingback: Winning Recipe for Astros: LatinoMVP Royalty – Latino Sports

    • Julio Pabón

      August 8, 2023 at 10:41 am

      Thank you for your comment. This help us increase our viewers ratings.

  3. Pingback: HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK: JULY 31 – AUGUST 6 – Latino Sports

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Advertisement

Facebook

Latest Article

More in Baseball