Framber Valdez spins a gem as the Astros level up the World Series at 1–1
Philadelphia Phillies 2 Houston Astros 5, 29th October 2022.
Philadelphia Phillies 2 Houston Astros 5, 29th October 2022.
As a baseball fan bathed in Dodger blue I have no love for the Astros of Houston and I’m squarely in the corner of the huge underdog Philadelphia Phillies in this years “Big Dance”. I watch a lot of baseball and perhaps a little too much for a UK fan forever dancing that fine line of sleep deprived madness as the witching hour has long since past before I even see a game’s first pitch. It’s the price you pay for a sport you love and last night, as we in the UK celebrated the twice yearly ritual of realising that time isn’t real and can be forwarded or deleted and that Salvador Dali was correct all along and our manmade construct of time is indeed malleable and fluid, barrel chested Dominican Republic born starting pitcher Framber Valdez was spinning a gem and setting the table for an Astros victory under the lights (and indeed roof) of Minute Maid Park in Houston, and at 1–1, the teams now travel to Philadelphia all square and with a World Series intriguingly poised.
My sporting appreciation for the 28 year old hurler from a holiday island in the Caribbean is for his delicious and seemingly unhittable curveball (I have a baseball fetish for a good curveball) and for his wide infectious smile. He’s clearly loving every second of every batting duel and last night and 104 pitches later, Valdez left the mound for the final time after a dominating, game winning performance of 9 strikeouts and just a single run conceded and whilst his beautifully wide smile wasn’t in evidence as he returned to the dugout, he was accorded a hero’s return from all those in orange and blue crammed inside Minute Maid Park for a night of sporting radiance and brilliance.
On the other side of a World Series baseball, the more upright and harder throwing style of Zack Wheeler was summarily dismantled in a blitzkrieg of an opening inning whereby both veteran Jose Altuve and rookie Jeremy Pena tattooed his first pitch for respective doubles, slugger Yordan Alvarez took a pitch extra before he too crushed the Phillies starting pitcher for a double, and all three Astros came home to score for a 3–0 lead in the bottom of the 1st inning, and a Game 2 they’d lead from beginning to end. Although he surrendered 4 of the Astros 5 total runs (and a humdinger of a Home Run from Alex Bregman he crushed to straight away centre for a 2 run blast), Wheeler performed strongly enough but like the Phillies team he was leading, they were always and collectively behind the sporting metaphor of the 8 ball. At the halfway stage in Game 1 the score was tied at 5–5 and last night yet again the home team Astros celebrated the bottom of the 5th inning with 5 dominating runs on the board.
The Phillies meanwhile and with baserunners aplenty, had still been shut out at the halfway stage by Valdez’s game winning pitching performance and although the Phillies would rally in the top of the 6th inning (signalling Valdez’s departure and acclaim from the adoring Houston masses), the 7th inning and a Nick Castellanos double batted in by Jean Segura’s “Sacrifice Fly” and a huge 9th inning double from Alec Bohm (crashing off Minute Maid Park’s distinctive architectural arches) before being subsequently batted in by a Brandon Marsh double, Astros “closer” Ryan Pressly does what he seemingly always does, shuts down the rally and closes out yet another crucial win for his team.
Travel day today with resumption in Philadelphia tomorrow night, which will be a Monday stateside and an early Tuesday morning back here in the time travelling UK and, even more pleasing perhaps, “October baseball” tiptoes into November, and who doesn’t want more baseball in this strangest of all possible worlds?
Thanks for reading. I pen thoughts on topics old and new, sometimes borrowed and occasionally blue. Here are my three most recently published articles, but there are far more available within the cave of wonders that is my archives:
Birthday boy Summerville stuns The Kop as an energetic Leeds are far too good for a woeful Reds
Liverpool 1 Leeds United 2, 29th October 2022.medium.com
“The Bird is Freed”
Twitter Watch Vol.11 — Let the freedom bell ring!medium.com
Phillies take Game 1 on a wild night in Houston
Philadelphia Phillies 6 Houston Astros 5, 28th October 2022.medium.com