After a tough open to the series with the Kansas City Royals, the Houston Astros looked to respond in a big way inside the friendly confines of Daikin Park. Framber Valdez got the defense clicking early with a very strong, eight inning performance along with a solo home run from Jeremy Pena and a walk-off homer from Isaac Paredes wins it for the Astros on Tuesday night 2-1.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
During the first few innings, both Kris Bubic and Framber Valdez were getting the best of the opposing teams’ batting order, as they only allowed five total hits in the first four innings. Valdez had two different innings where he only threw six pitches to get out of the inning clean.
In the fifth, a walk to Mikael Garcia then a single from Vinnie Pasquintino led to an RBI single from Freddy Fermin to score the game’s first run and put the Royals ahead 1-0 in the top of the fifth.
In the bottom of the sixth, Jeremy Pena got the Astros their first run of the evening with a solo home run to left field to lead off the sixth inning, tying the game at 1-1.
Framber Valdez continued to have a great night on the mound outside of the one run given up as the ace went eight innings on the evening, striking out seven while giving up six hits and the single run.
In the bottom of the ninth, Isaac Paredes ended things and sent the home fans home happy with a solo walk-off homer into the Crawford Boxes as the Astros took down the Royals in a defensive battle 2-1.
BIG NUMBER: 1
For Paredes, it is the first walk-off homer of his career. It was also the first walk-off winner for the Astros in the young 2025 season.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Framber Valdez
Valdez was excellent on the mound, giving up just one run on six hits in eight innings while striking out seven to give his offense the opportunity to make a play down the stretch.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Isaac Paredes
Speaking of the offense making a play, Paredes certainly did, launching the game-winning home run into the Crawford Boxes, his first walk-off in his career.
UP NEXT: The Astros (21-20) will host the Royals (25-18) in the rubber match of this mid-week series. For Kansas City, Michael Lornezen will take the mound while Colton Gordon will make his MLB debut for the Astros on Wednesday night. First pitch from Daikin Park is set for 7:10 p.m. with Astro Launch starting at 6:40 on Southwest Louisiana’s Sports Station.