Valdez on string of quality starts: 'A lot of the hard work I’ve put in, these are the results I’ve been getting'

The Houston Astros’ 7-0 road victory over the Detroit Tigers on Monday featured two milestones for starting pitcher Framber Valdez.

According to a report on the Astros’ website, Valdez recorded his 24th consecutive quality start to match the mark set by the New York Mets’ Jacob deGrom in 2018, as well as notched his first career shutout.

The Dominican southpaw acknowledged the gravity of the rare streak.

“It is big for me,” he said in the report. “It just shows me that a lot of the hard work I’ve put in, these are the results I’ve been getting.”

Valdez, a first-time All-Star, worked all nine frames to the tune of eight strikeouts, six hits allowed and an issued walk.

The last time he stood on the mound an entire game was Houston’s 5-1 win over the Oakland Athletics on Memorial Day.

Valdez’s huge night was complemented by the Astros’ stellar performances at the plate and on defense.

Rookie shortstop Jeremy Peña accounted for three of the visitors’ 13 hits while second baseman Jose Altuve, left fielder Yordan Alvarez and third baseman Alex Bregman combined for six.

Right fielder Kyle Tucker, who’s looking to join baseball’s 30-homerun (HR)/30-steal club, lead the team in runs batted in (RBI) on the night with three.

The Astros’ penultimate game in Detroit on Tuesday will be a homecoming for rookie hurler Hunter Brown, who translated his first Major League Baseball (MLB) start into his first career win on Labor Day.

A native of suburban Detroit and an alumnus of nearby Wayne State University, Houston CBS affiliate KHOU reported, Brown carries a 0.00 earned run average (ERA) into his second start since the team elevated him from Triple-A Sugar Land.

The station reported that Wayne State students can attend Tuesday’s game and the finale on Wednesday for a discount.