FRAMBER VALDEZ

A bit player during the Chicago Cubs’ drought-smashing victory over Cleveland five years ago, Jorge Soler was voted MVP of the Atlanta Braves' six-game World Series win over the Houston Astros.

Carlos Correa and the Houston Astros broke out the bats just in time to extend this World Series.

Jose Altuve and the Astros added on in the eighth inning, pushing their lead to 9-5 and moving closer to taking this World Series back to Houston.

Game 5 of the World Series between the Houston Astros and Atlanta Braves might have represented a historic moment for Major League Baseball.

Grinning the whole time, Zack Greinke slipped into his Astros warmup jacket, joked with Freddie Freeman and got a friendly pat from the Atlanta star first baseman. Because after Game 5 of the World Series, they could become almost extinct. There’s a good chance Major League Baseball will bring the designated hitter to the National League next year — likely forever.

Dansby Swanson picked a good time to drive in his first run of the World Series.

A guy who spent most of the season in the minors kept the Braves in it.

Looking calm and poised a night after overamped rotation-mate Framber Valdez was chased early, José Urquidy gave the Astros’ bats a chance to break out.

Rookie Jose Siri sparked a team whose biggest stars took a while to shine, sending the Houston Astros to a 7-2 victory over the Atlanta Braves that evened the World Series at one game apiece.

Valdez allowed one run in eight sterling innings of a win over the Red Sox in Game 5 of the ALCS, giving the Astros optimism that he could help stabilize a rotation rocked by the loss of staff ace Lance McCullers Jr. Instead, he permitted a playoff career-high five runs while getting just six outs in a 6-2 loss.

Making his first start since testing positive for COVID-19, Jorge Soler became the first player to begin a World Series with a home run and the Atlanta Braves, despite the loss of pitcher Charlie Morton to a broken leg, hushed the Houston Astros 6-2 in Game 1.

The Houston Astros didn't get off to the best of starts in the World Series, and the early damage inflicted by the Atlanta Braves was enough to key a 6-2 Astros loss in Game 1.

Though the uniform keeps changing, Charlie Morton is becoming a Fall Classic fixture, starting in the World Series for the third time in five seasons this week.

Framber Valdez will start for the Houston Astros in Game 1 of the World Series against the Atlanta Braves.

When Freddie Freeman and the Atlanta Braves meet Jose Altuve and the Houston Astros, it will be a World Series that's been six decades in the making.

Rookie Luis García will start for the Houston Astros against the Boston Red Sox in Game 6 of the AL Championship Series with a trip to the World Series on the line.

The Astros lefty was perfect through four, took a two-hit shutout into the seventh and became the first pitcher in the 2021 postseason to finish eight innings on Wednesday.

Framber Valdez gave the Houston Astros the start they were looking for.

The Houston Astros are now one win away from the World Series after a dominating 9-1 win over the Boston Red Sox.

The Dodgers are ready to start ace Max Scherzer in Game 2 of the NL Championship Series against Atlanta, a day after manager Dave Roberts scratched the veteran right-hander to get him an extra day of rest.

Houston Astros ace Lance McCullers is looking for ways to help the team off the field while sidelined with an arm injury during the AL Championship Series against the Boston Red Sox.

Carlos Correa hit a tiebreaking home run in the seventh inning that helped the Houston Astros beat the Boston Red Sox 5-4 in Game 1 of the AL Championship Series.

Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora will look to take down his former team in the AL Championship Series for the second time in four years after beating the Houston Astros on the way to a World Series title in 2018.

The 107-win Giants and 106-win Dodgers are ready to throw out all those wins and settle their season-long clash with a best-of-five NL Division Series in San Francisco.

The 106-win Los Angeles Dodgers put their season on the line in the NL wild-card game against the red-hot St. Louis Cardinals.

The 106-win Los Angeles Dodgers put their season on the line in the NL wild-card game against the red-hot St. Louis Cardinals.

Matt Olson and Chad Pinder each homered and the Oakland Athletics beat Houston 8-6 Friday night, cutting the Astros’ edge for home-field advantage in the AL playoffs. Houston leads the White Sox by one game for home field in their best-of-five Division Series matchup next week. The AL West champion Astros also own the tiebreaker after going 5-2 against AL Central champion Chicago this season.

Starling Marte hit a game-ending double with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning, lifting the Oakland Athletics past the Houston Astros 2-1.

Astros down Angels and lower Magic number to 8

Kole Calhoun knocked in the go-ahead run with an RBI single and Daulton Varsho homered as the Arizona Diamondbacks scored three runs in the 10th inning for a 6-4 win over the Houston Astros.

Carlos Correa triggered a seven-run fourth inning with a three-run homer, and the Houston Astros beat the Texas Rangers 12-1.

Two-way star Shohei Ohtani has been scratched from his scheduled start for the Angels against Oakland because of a sore right arm that could sideline him as a pitcher for the rest of the season.

Jake Meyers and Marwin Gonzalez hit consecutive homers in a three-run second inning, Kyle Tucker had a home run among his three hits, and Jose Urquidy allowed one run and two hits in six innings for his seventh win of the season as the Houston Astros beat the Texas Rangers 7-2.

Shohei Ohtani hit his major league-leading 44th home run, but got tagged early by José Altuve, Alex Bregman and the Houston Astros in a 10-5 over the Los Angeles Angels.

Big league home run leader Shohei Ohtani is unbeaten in his last 13 starts going into this outing for the Los Angeles Angels against the AL West-leading Astros in Houston.

José Marmolejos hit a tiebreaking, two-run single with two outs in the ninth inning and J.P. Crawford padded the lead with a two-run homer as the Seattle Mariners avoided a sweep with an 8-5 win over the Houston Astros on Wednesday.

Manny Machado, Wil Myers and Fernando Tatis Jr. each hit an impressive two-run home run and Joe Musgrove had a solid outing against one of his former teams as the San Diego Padres beat the AL West-leading Houston Astros 10-2.

Kyle Tucker hit a tiebreaking two-run home run in the eighth inning and Carlos Correa’s three-run shot in the fourth ended a 22-inning scoreless streak for the Houston Astros, who beat the scuffling San Diego Padres 6-3.

Yordan Álvarez and Carlos Correa both homered as the AL West-leading Houston Astros beat the rookie-laden Texas Rangers 5-2.

Michael Brantley tied the game with a two-run single in Houston's five-run seventh inning as the AL West-leading Astros rallied for a 5-4 win over the last-place Texas Rangers.

Ty France tied the game with a solo home run in the ninth inning and put the Seattle Mariners on top with an RBI single in the 11th before Kyle Seager belted a three-run homer in a 6-3 win over the Houston Astros on Sunday.

Rookie Taylor Jones had a career-high four RBIs and finished a single shy of the cycle, and Yordan Alvarez hit a three-run homer as the Houston Astros routed the Seattle Mariners for the second straight game, 15-1.

Daniel Lynch allowed one run over seven sharp innings as the Kansas City Royals beat the Houston Astros 3-1.

Salvador Perez drove in the go-ahead runs with a two-out single in the eighth inning, helping the struggling Kansas City Royals to a back-and-forth 7-6 victory over the AL West-leading Houston Astros.

Aledmys Díaz had three hits and drove in three runs to lead the Houston Astros to 5-1 win over the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday.

Aledmys Díaz had three hits and drove in three runs to lead the Houston Astros to 5-1 win over the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday.

Jake Odorizzi and four relievers combined on a five-hit shutout, Taylor Jones had a two-run double and the Houston Astros beat the Colorado Rockies 5-0.

The Minnesota Twins got a solid start from rookie Griffin Jax, and Andrelton Simmons drove in two runs as they built a big lead early and held on for a 5-3 win over the Houston Astros on Thursday night.

Max Scherzer struck out 10 in his Dodgers debut and got plenty of offensive support as Los Angeles hit four home runs to defeat the Houston Astros 7-5, capping a contentious two-game series at Dodger Stadium.

José Altuve hit a grand slam in the sixth one inning after putting Houston ahead on a solo homer, and the AL-leading Houston Astros held off the San Francisco Giants 9-6 in a matchup of baseball’s top two teams.

Yuli Gurriel singled, doubled and homered to drive in three runs and lead the Houston Astros over the Seattle Mariners 11-4 on Wednesday.

Held hitless into the eighth inning by Domingo Germán and looking feeble, Alex Verdugo and the Boston Red Sox suddenly erupted for five runs to shake Fenway Park and storm past the New York Yankees 5-4.

Framber Valdez and the Houston bullpen took a no-hit try into the eighth inning and Astros beat Texas 4-1, sending the Rangers to their season-worst 11th straight loss.

The Houston Astros lost their combined no-hit bid in the eighth when Isiah Kiner-Falefa singled to start the inning for the Texas Rangers.

Kyle Tucker hit a three-run homer in Houston’s big third inning to help the Astros hand the Texas Rangers their 10th straight loss with a 7-3 victory.

^ Keep Houston Press Free Support Us LocalCommunityJournalismI Support Support the independent voice of Houston and help keep the future of Houston Press free. Support UsVirtually every analysis of the Houston Astros going into the 2021 season described the team in the same way. Despite the loss of George Springer in free agency, this was still a very good team at the plate and in the field. At least one of those can be checked off the list as the Astros reportedly signed McCullers to a five-year extension worth $85 million that begins after the 2021 season. And, at roughly $17 million per season, his salary is not going to break the bank.

^ Keep Houston Press Free Support Us LocalCommunityJournalismI Support Support the independent voice of Houston and help keep the future of Houston Press free. So, the Astros did what they needed to do and signed free agent Jake Odorizzi reportedly to a two-year deal. And as cautious as the Astros have been about making significant signings in the offseason, they didn't have much choice. If he does, he could eat 130 to 150 innings for the Astros this season and be a quality replacement for Valdez. For now, the Astros will regroup without him and Valdez and hope Odorizzi can stabilize a lineup that has been shaken only a couple weeks into spring training.

For the second straight night, the Astros won in an elimination game against Tampa Bay 4-3, this time forcing a Game 6 on Friday after going down 3-1 in this best-of-seven series. Unlike Game 4, however, this one began and ended in dramatic fashion with bookend home runs by two of the team's biggest stars. Sandwiched in between was some incredible pitching by both teams in a game that was driven entirely by the long ball. Well, Houston still isn't good for guys named Nick Anderson and the walk off home run was against Rays reliever Nick Anderson (no relation). The Astros led off the game with a solo shot from George Springer, his nineteenth postseason home run.

George Springer had two more dingers in the Astros win over the A's. On Wednesday, the Astros can close it out with a three-game sweep and prepare to meet the winner of the Rays-Yankees matchup. Jim Crane needs to open up his wallet for George Springer. With two home runs, Springer now has the second most postseason home runs in history at Dodger Stadium. With his impending free agency, it seems clearer than ever that the Astros should do whatever they must to retain him.

But, in the ninth inning of a pitcher's duel, the Astros came through with a 4-1 win thanks to walks, a fortunate error and timely hitting. In some ways, it was reminiscent of previous Astros teams taking advantage of unforced errors and being disciplined at the plate. With two outs in the ninth, the Astros should have been off the field and headed to the bottom of the inning tied at one. For all the worries over Astros pitching in light of Justin Verlander's injury and the loss of Gerrit Cole in free agency, Valdez is one of the real bright spots in their rotation's future. On Tuesday, he was the reason they won Game 1.

Josh Reddick #22 of the Houston Astros celebrates with Jose Altuve #27 after hitting a home run in the fourth inning against the Seattle Mariners at Minute Maid Park. The victory extends Houston's winning streak over the Mariners to nine games and improves the Astros to 14-1 against them this season. Reddick, who hadn't homered since June 28 before Thursday night's shot, put the Astros on top with a solo home run in the fourth inning. Houston starter Framber Valdez allowed just two hits, but walked a career-high six and gave up three runs in four innings. Lopes singled, stole second base and advanced to third on an error by catcher Martin Maldonado with no outs in the fourth.

TORONTO - Cavan Biggio and Teoscar Hernandez each hit a two-run home run, Clay Buchholz pitched into the sixth inning to win for the first time in more than a year, and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Houston Astros 6-4 Saturday. Bo Bichette and Brandon Drury each had two hits as the Blue Jays won for the second time in five games. Former Astros closer Ken Giles struck out George Springer, Altuve and Alex Bregman in the ninth for his 18th save in 19 opportunities. Yuli Gurriel hit a two-run double off Derek Law in the sixth, but Biggio responded with a two-out RBI double off Joe Smith in the bottom half. Blue Jays: RHP Wilmer Font (3-3, 4.35) will open for the Blue Jays Sunday.

Martin Maldonado #12 of the Astros receives a high five from Abraham Toro #13 after hitting a two-run home run in the seventh inning at Minute Maid Park. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)HOUSTON - Jose Altuve homered to cap a seven-run eighth inning, Framber Valdez grinded through six gritty innings and the Houston Astros beat the Los Angeles Angels 11-2 Sunday. Alex Bregman, Abraham Toro, Josh Reddick and Altuve all drove in runs in the eighth. The Astros hope to increase his activity over the coming days including being able to do batting practice and fielding ground balls. Astros: RHP Justin Verlander (15-5, 2.77 ERA) will start the series opener against the Rays on Tuesday after a day off.

Framber Valdez of the Houston Astros pitches in the first inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday at Minute Maid Park (Bob Levey/Getty Images). Jung Ho Kang added a two-run homer for Pittsburgh. Kevin Newman had four hits, capped by a two-run homer, to extend his hitting streak to a career-high 16 games - longest in the majors. Bell gave Pittsburgh the early lead with his two-out, two-strike home run to the second deck in right field. The Pirates padded the lead in the second when Elias Daz doubled with no outs and scored on a double by Dickerson.