The Houston Astros suffered yet another disappointing loss on Wednesday night, falling to the San Francisco Giants by a final score of 5-3.
It has become a trend for the Astros. They dropped to 31-38 following the loss and are slowly losing their way farther and farther back in the standings.
One major concern coming out of the loss was about the health of starting pitcher Framber Valdez. He was pulled after throwing just 59 pitches, which led to speculation.
Following the game, Houston manager Joe Espada spoke out about Valdez and gave good news for anyone who was concerned about a potential injury.
As shared by Chandler Rome of The Athletic, the move was about on-the-field performance as opposed to anything physical.
Valdez is fine, but was giving up too much contact and the move was made to try to break the Giants’ momentum.
Framber Valdez is fine physically, both he and Joe Espada said. Espada said pulling him after 59 pitches was more due to San Francisco’s contact against him and wanting to keep the game within striking distance.
— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) June 12, 2024
No one could blame any fan for being concerned about an injury. The Astros have had more than their fair share of luck when it comes to injuries this season.
Recently, both Cristian Javier and Jose Urquidy were forced to undergo surgery that will leave them out the rest of the season.
Valdez has put together a solid 2024 campaign. He has started in 11 games this year, compiling a 5-4 record to go along with a 3.99 ERA.
He is going to be a key piece of the future as well. At 30 years old, he still has great baseball years ahead of him. Houston also still has control over his contract after this season as well.
While the loss was rough to watch, the news about Valdez is good. It’s been a long season already, but there is still hope that the Astros can turn things around and work their way back into the AL Wild Card race.
