Houston Astros Ace Takes Mound For Biggest Game of Season

It's time for the Houston Astros team of old to show up on Wednesday.

The team that always rose the occasion in the biggest moments. The team that delivers when their backs are against the wall.

They need to channel that mentality when facing their nemesis Seattle Mariners on the road, in a raucous environment, with massive playoff implications during the series finale.

And they need Framber Valdez to channel his old self that has dominated teams throughout his career.

That wasn't the case his last time out against the Kansas City Royals. He gave up six earned runs in a loss that began their home sweep.

But Valdez has an opportunity to put all that behind him and deliver when the Astros need him most.

"Probably the biggest game of the year. Gotta win. Gotta go out there and score more runs than them and win the game, win the series," second baseman Jose Altuve told Brian McTaggart of MLB.com.

Besides getting a good start from their ace, Houston has to give him run support like they gave Justin Verlander in the first game of the series.

They failed to do that last night, letting Mariners' starter George Kirby off the hook early.

The Astros were 2-13 with runners in scoring position on Tuesday and scored only one run total during the game with the bases loaded twice.

It's time for their big hitters to come to life and perform like they have in the past. All four of the remaining games for Houston are must win games.

It's playoff baseball for Houston in September.