It’s a magical day in Houston. Hours after Justin Verlander returned to the Astros, Framber Valdez threw his first no-hitter, facing the minimum 27 batters.
Despite a rocky July, on this first day of August, 2023, Valdez was on point and dominant from the beginning of the game until the last pitch. Both his 2-seamer and curve were unhittable, and he threw them for strikes. He only needed 93 pitches, an amazing 65 were strikes.
He had the perfect combination of swing-and-miss and weak contact. He threw 16 swinging strikes and finished with seven strikeouts. Batters looked confused all night.