In Game 1 of the 2021 World Series, the Houston Astros turned to Framber Valdez for the start.
Prior to Tuesday, the lefty had never pitched in the World Series, so this was a new challenge for him.
Unfortunately, things didn’t go as hoped for the 27-year-old.
He had a rocky outing and was ultimately charged with the loss.
Here are a few takeaways from his performance.
This Was Valdez’s First Time Ever Facing The Braves
Heading into Game 1, there were tons of storylines at play.
But one of them sort of went under the radar: the fact that Valdez had never faced the Braves before.
That made it very difficult to evaluate how Braves hitters were going to perform against the southpaw.
It didn’t take very long for us to get our answer, though.
The Braves roughed Valdez up for five runs on eight hits, and they needed just two innings to do all of that.
Rough Outing for Valdez
2 IP, 5 ER, 2 HR, 2 SO, 1 BB, 8 H pic.twitter.com/R40CKm7Qk7— Full Count Baseball (@FullCountMLB) October 27, 2021
Jorge Soler and Adam Duvall had especially good showings against the Astros hurler, as both of those batters left the yard.
Atlanta was able to get deep into Houston’s bullpen as a result of Valdez’s rough night, which was a massive win for the Braves.
Wearing down your opponent’s relief staff early in a series is always huge.
It Has Been An Up-And-Down Postseason For Valdez
The Astros clearly had high hopes for Valdez going into Game 1 of the World Series.
If they didn’t, they wouldn’t have given him the ball.
He had a great regular season, pitching to a 3.14 ERA over 22 starts.
But in the playoffs, it has been a different story.
Valdez has struggled to be consistent.
He did give the Astros an outstanding performance in Game 5 of the ALCS, as he tossed eight innings of one-run ball.
But aside from that start, he hasn’t been very reliable in these playoffs.
Overall, he has a 6.35 ERA, 5.88 FIP, and .967 opponent OPS in the 2021 postseason.
That’s going to have to change, because there’s a very good chance he’ll be asked to make another start in this World Series.
Where Do The Astros Go From Here?
After Valdez’s bad outing, the Astros are in a hole in more ways than one.
Yes, they’re down in the series, but in addition to that, their bullpen is taxed.
For that reason, the team could really use some length out of their Game 2 starter.
Jose Urquidy will be tasked with that responsibility.
.@astros Game 2 starter Jose Urquidy is thankful to be back in the World Series and says it means a lot to him to be in this position. Gametime is 7pm@astros | #ForTheH pic.twitter.com/0341NSZO1x
— AT&T SportsNet SW (@ATTSportsNetSW) October 27, 2021
The righty is making his second appearance of the 2021 playoffs, and the Astros are hoping that his second outing will look nothing like his first one did.
The 26-year-old got shelled for six runs (five earned) over 1.2 innings of work in Game 3 of the ALCS.
Obviously, that’s not going to get the job done.
But on the bright side, Urquidy has had playoff success in the past.
Excluding his rocky outing in the 2021 ALCS, he has a career ERA of 2.81 over eight postseason appearances.
Houston will hope to see that side of him in Game 2.
NEXT: 2 Players The Astros Cannot Afford To Lose This Offseason