Dusty Baker on Framber Valdez - "This guy, he prides himself on quality starts”

Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker has lauded praise on star pitcher Framber Valdez after his impressive performance helped even the World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies.

In an interview with FOX's Ken Rosenthal, Baker said he was impressed with the 28-year-old's consistency in Game 2:

"His sync was good. His breaking ball once he got tired was excellent. I mean, this guy prides himself on quality starts. ...

"This guy has been as consistent as any pitcher that I've ever had throughout the course of the year, and he just continued to do the same thing during the playoffs. He gets big outs. He makes big pitches."

Valdez threw a curveball on 42 of his 104 pitches in 6.1 innings, and he generated swinging strikes with the pitch. Valdez also received 12 calls for strikes on his 45 sinkers.

Rafael Montero has now tossed 220.1 innings for the year, 66 more than his previous career high. He was also a force in the regular season, with no American League player allowing fewer home runs per nine innings.

After a disappointing showing in the Fall Classic opener, Valdez has certainly silenced the critics and will aim to continue this form in the crucial games ahead.

Dusty Baker's inspired relief changes in Game 2 win over Philadelphia Phillies

After their collapse in Game 1, the onus was on manager Dusty Baker to return to winning ways with their first loss of the postseason. He did exactly that, sticking with the inexperienced Rafael Montero for a season-high 33 pitches.

Dusty Baker will be aiming to win his first ever World Series title in his career with the Houston Astros.

The decision paid off with Montero coming off a splendid showing against NLCS MVP Bryce Harper. Baker was pleased to stick to his guns after the win, saying:

“We were hoping that [Montero] would get through Harper. He's always on your radar when he's going to be up next. …

"We thought about [a fresh arm], but we just thought about who might be better in that situation than who we had in there already, as long as he wasn't tired or started throwing balls and stuff.”

Dusty Baker will now have to make some important decisions as the series heads to Philadelphia for Game 3. With Justin Verlander and Bryan Abreu in good form, Montero has added to the depth needed to bring home the elusive World Series title back to Houston.