Framber Valdez no-hitter: Dusty Baker impressed with pitcher's focus on mound, says it was at a 'superior level' 

Houston Astros manager Framber Valdez is impressed with Framber Valdez. The pitcher created history by throwing a no-hitter in a shutout triumph over the Cleveland Guardians on Tuesday at the Minute Maid Park.

The 2-0-win saw Valdez throwing 93 pitches in a game that had seven strikeouts. He also registered the record of throwing the third-fewest pitches that has been thrown in a no-hitter since 1988.

The no-hitter was the 16th in Astros history and the first complete game no-hitter since Justin Verlander threw his third no-hitter on Sept. 1, 2019. Last year, the Astros had thrown two combined no-hitter pitches.

Valdez has joined eminent players like Nolan Ryan, J.R. Richard, Gerrit Cole. He also made it to the list of Cy Young awardees comprising Mike Scott, Roger Clemens and Justin Verlander, becoming the second Astros pitcher to achieve this rare feat. However, in the fifth inning, he allowed a baserunner to have a walk. Thankfully, it did not do much, owing to a double play in that frame.

Astros manager Dusty Baker was impressed with Valdez’s focus on the mound:

“He started out with a bang. … You could tell he was on and he stayed on.

"A lot of times, Framber will start off great and have a rough inning somewhere in between there, but today, his concentration was at a superior level.” – Dusty Baker said about Valdez.

---

Framber Valdez leads Astros to shutout victory

Houston Astros starting pitcher Framber Valdez (AP Photo/Kevin M. Cox)

The second game of the series between the Houston Astros and the Cleveland Guardians witnessed Valdez’s impressive focus on the mound, which led the Astros to a shutout win.

The hosts scored at the bottom of the third inning following Kyle Tucker’s two-run single. That was enough for the team to seal victory as Valdez was determined to throw no-hitters, dominating against the Cleveland Guardians.

Now that pitcher Justin Verlander is back to the Astros, it can be expected that Dusty Baker would start him to secure victory in the third game of the series on Wednesday.