Per the Fox broadcast, Valdez is the second pitcher ever to go at least eight innings and allow three or fewer hits in the postseason in Fenway Park. When he wanted to get whiffs, he broke out the curve, which got swings and misses seven of the 30 times he threw it. He had heavy sinker usage (60 of his 93 pitches), so this was excellent execution of a clear game plan. He got a whopping 14 groundball outs compared to just three flyouts (and two of those were his last two batters faced). He was so dominant, Astros outfielders barely even got any action. He only looked like there might be trouble in that fifth inning, but got out of it with groundballs. In his eight strong innings of work, Valdez only allowed one run (a solo homer to one of the best power hitters in baseball) on three hits while striking out five and walking just one. Valdez hit the next batter with a pitch, but then got a double play and then another groundout to shut things down. Devers singled to lead off the bottom of the fifth. Yes, he had a perfect game going through four innings. He became the first ever pitcher to start the game by retiring more than nine straight hitters in Fenway Park in postseason play. The bullpen was excellent in Game 4, but the possibility of another short start left open the option of his bullpen being gassed and losing Game 5. Manager Dusty Baker couldn't really do much to help his team win in those games with his pitchers performing so poorly. As a result, the bullpen also had some issues in Games 2 and 3. Valdez steps up for AstrosĪstros starters in Games 1-4 of the ALCS had worked just 6 2/3 innings, allowing an absurd 16 runs in that time. They also tacked on two more runs in the ninth inning, giving them nine runs in the ninth inning in Games 4 and 5. With the Astros adding another run in the seventh, it meant that after the first inning in Game 4 up until the Rafael Devers' homer in the bottom of the seventh of Game 5, the Astros had outscored the Red Sox 15-0 in the span of 14 1/2 innings. Just like that, it was 6-0 Astros after a five-run frame. Yuli Gurriel would knock home Alvarez on an RBI double and Jose Siri followed with a two-RBI single.
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