The Houston Astros have a strong one-two punch atop their rotation with Hunter Brown and Framber Valdez. While the rest of the rotation hasn’t been as great, Valdez especially has been incredible in his latest starts for the Astros. His past two starts put him in rare air with just one other Astros starter in history.
According to a post on Twitter/X from Underdog Fantasy’s Justin Havens, Valdez, after his 12-strikeout outing against the Chicago White Sox, joined Justin Verlander as the only pitchers in Astros history to have back-to-back outings of 11 strikeouts or more in less than 100 pitches.
Framber Valdez is only the 2nd pitcher in Astros franchise history to have back-to-back starts within the same season of 11+ K on fewer than 100 pitches (Justin Verlander in July of 2018).
— nugget chef (@jayhaykid) June 13, 2025
Against the White Sox, Valdez went just five innings and threw 95 pitches, but he struck out 12 batters en route to his seventh win of the season, and fifth win in a row. The previous start to begin this streak came against the Pittsburgh Pirates, where he went seven innings, throwing 99 pitches, and struck out 11 batters.
While not a part of this incredible strikeout streak of sub-100 pitches, the start right before these two record-tying starts was a complete game masterpiece against the Tampa Bay Rays in which Valdez allowed one run in nine innings of work on just 83 pitches. Even though his pitch count was low, he still managed to strike out nine batters.
On the season, Valdez has a 3.10 ERA, 96 strikeouts, and a 7-4 record. He started the year slowly, but since his May 7th start against the Milwaukee Brewers, he’s gone 6-0 with a 2.02 ERA and struck out 59 batters in 49 innings of work.
His two-game stretch of throwing less than 100 pitches and getting at least 11 strikeouts is a very impressive feat. Only Verlander has done it for the Astros in their storied history. It’s not only a rare feat, but one that showcases how dominant both Valdez and Verlander were during their two-game stretches.