Altuve comes through to back Valdez's seven no-hit frames

HOUSTON -- A buzz came over the crowd when Jose Altuve’s name was introduced in the bottom of the ninth inning Friday night with the winning run at first base. In the home dugout at Minute Maid Park, the feeling was much the same.

“This is the guy you want in that spot,” manager Joe Espada said.

Moments after blowing a ninth-inning lead on a night starting pitcher Framber Valdez threw seven no-hit innings, Altuve rocketed a double off the wall in left field to score Jake Meyers and send the Astros to a dramatic, 3-2, walk-off win over the Royals -- Houston’s third win in a row.

“He always finds a way to wow us,” Espada said. “That’s another big swing by Jose Altuve.”

Altuve’s game-winning hit came moments after Royals third baseman Paul DeJong tied the game with a two-run homer in the top of the ninth off Houston closer Josh Hader, who had his consecutive saves streak snapped at 29 games in a row. That was the Royals’ second and final hit of the night.

Meyers singled with one out in the ninth and scored easily from first when Altuve banged an 0-1 pitch from James McArthur off the left-field wall. Altuve’s teammates mobbed him after Houston’s sixth walk-off hit of the season.

“I think the fact Jake got on base and gave us the opportunity to score a run there and come back and win this game is huge,” Altuve said.

Valdez, who has a 2.65 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 11 quality starts in 17 starts since May 27, threw 98 pitches (60 strikes) in seven no-hit innings to flirt with a no-no for the second time this season. He came within one out of a no-hitter on Aug. 6 at Texas.

“What he’s been doing the whole entire year, the second half, is so good,” Espada said. “That curveball, the sinker, kept that all righty lineup off balance. His stuff is so good. He’s efficient, composed, going after hitters and getting big outs and getting ground balls when he needs to. He’s just really, really good.”

Valdez relied heavily on his sinker (41 pitches) and curveball (37 pitches), a pitch which induced 23 swings and nine whiffs. He’s 7-1 with a 2.22 ERA and 0.91 WHIP in his last 10 starts (Astros are 9-1 in those starts).

“He’s got all sorts of pitches,” DeJong said. “He changes his cadences. He throws a lot of strikes to balls. When we’re aggressive, we’re swinging, and it’s starting down the middle, but it’s a changeup or a curveball. He changes velocity a lot. He’s got a lot of movement. He’s been around awhile. He’s been a pretty good pitcher.

Valdez needed 20 pitches to get through a seventh inning in which he hit a batter and walked a batter, and his night ended following a conversation in the tunnel with Espada and pitching coach Josh Miller.

“Those are personal goals, but me, as a manager, I’m thinking more of the team,” Espada said. “I’m thinking of where he’s at when he comes off the mound and how he looks, and that last inning how he looks. You have a conversation with him where you think and you have to gauge on what you see and what you hear from him. We have a really good bullpen. That makes my decision a little bit easier, when you got guys back in there you can rely on.”

Workhorse reliever Bryan Abreu gave up a two-out single to pinch-hitter Kyle Isbel in the eighth inning to break up the no-hit bid, and the Royals tied it in the ninth on a two-run homer by DeJong off Hader, who blew his first save since April 2.

“What was that, 29 [saves] in a row?” Espada said. “It’s 29 in a row. Sometimes you’re just going to be human. He’s been outstanding.”

The Astros have had five no-hit bids of at least seven innings this year, which ties the 1989 Rangers and 1965 Reds for the most in one season in the expansion era (since 1961), including the playoffs. Rookie Ronel Blanco threw a no-hitter against the Blue Jays on April 1.

Valdez, who threw a no-hitter on Aug. 1, 2023, lost a no-hitter with two outs in the ninth inning on Aug. 6 in Arlington when Rangers shortstop Corey Seager hit a homer. Meanwhile, Astros rookie Spencer Arrighetti carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning on Wednesday in Philadelphia.