Houston Astros' Ace Flashes In No-Hit Bid

The Houston Astros needed a great start from their struggling ace Framber Valdez and they got one on Friday night. Prior to the game, the left hander had an ERA of 6.18 his last seven starts despite throwing a no-hitter on Aug. 1. He looked like a completely different pitcher from the Cy Young contender he was in the first half of the season.

Despite losing 4-1 to the Detroit Tigers, the more important thing for the Astros is that Valdez flashed his top end potential again. He threw seven scoreless inning Friday night before being pulled out of the game after throwing 114 pitches. His command was a bit of an issue, giving up five walks, but it was great for Houston to see him return to his top end form.

As far as how the ace put together his performance, it was very similar to when he threw his no-hitter.

James Shapiro of MLB.com wrote, "Across his seven innings, Valdez accelerated a trend that’s been visible since mid-June, leaning on his changeup while shying away from his curve. He threw just 16 curves -- a 14% rate, his lowest since April 9 -- and stymied Tigers hitters with 38 changeups (33%), far and away the most he’s used the pitch this season."

That was the strategy coming into the game according to the left hander.

He told Shapiro after the game, "That was part of my plan, just mix a lot of my pitches. Mix them up, mix them around, try not to get predictable and just throw sinker, sinker, sinker -- just try to mix them all around.”

Pairing this version of Valdez with how Justin Verlander has performed recently, makes the Astros a dangerous team in the postseason once again.