HOUSTON – The amount of starting pitching talent the Astros have lost in the last few years would be enough to sink most franchises into mediocrity. Dallas Keuchel and Charlie Morton left via free agency after the 2018 season, Gerrit Cole departed for the Yankees after the 2019 season and Justin Verlander made one start last year before getting injured and eventually having Tommy John surgery. 

The late July 2019 trade that brought Zack Greinke from the D-backs nearly was the key move that got the Astros another World Series title in ’19 -- Greinke carried a shutout into the 7th inning of Game 7, you may remember -- and he remains a rotation anchor in the final year of his contract. Even without a bunch of marquee names, the next generation of Astros starters is proving its worth. 

Astros left-hander Framber Valdez, who enjoyed a breakout 2020 season, is pitching like an ace only two starts into his season, which was delayed two months by a broken finger. Valdez held the Red Sox to one run and five hits and struck out 10 batters in seven innings to lead the Astros to their fourth win in a row, 2-1, on Wednesday night at Minute Maid Park.

“I feel really good where I’m at right now,” Valdez said. “My body physically feels really good, my arm, my legs. My whole body feels good. The only thing I want to do is turn up the intensity and that comes from working hard and getting after it all the time.” 

The endurance the broad-shouldered lefty showed to be able to throw 102 pitches five days after throwing 72 pitches in his first start of the season is a testament to the work he put in while he was rehabbing in March and April in West Palm Beach, Fla. 

“I didn’t take the time to hang out and take a vacation when I got injured,” he said. “I took the time to work out in the gym and get as strong as I physically could … to make sure I was in peak physical condition so that when I got back from the injury I could be as effective as I could and go six, seven, eight, and that’s what I was able to do tonight.”

Astros starters have allowed one earned run in each of the team’s past seven games, a span of 43 1/3 innings (1.45 ERA). Valdez has two of those, including a four-inning outing in his first start of the season Friday against the Padres. The stellar starting pitching has helped the Astros overcome some woeful results from their bullpen last week.

“Hopefully, we can continue to pitch the way that we have this last week,” Astros manager Dusty Baker said. “Pitching, especially starting pitching, is the key. The deeper they go, the better it is for us. We were really thinking hard if we were going to send Framber out there for the [seventh] inning. He said he felt good and [catcher Martín] Maldonado said he was sharper than ever. He didn’t start off too well.” 

Valdez escaped a tenuous 31-pitch first inning in which he allowed one run, two singles and two walks after two were out. The Red Sox hardly touched him after that as he dialed in his sinker-curveball combination. He retired 19 of the final 21 batters he faced, striking out the side in the fourth inning. 

“He started getting his breaking ball over, which is indicative of what we saw last year,” Baker said. “Early in the game, he was bouncing his breaking ball, but he found his breaking ball and found his release point, which helped him find his changeup and fastball. He’s a very strong man. He pitched great for us tonight.” 

The season is barely a third over and Valdez can see the potential in his teammates. The return of Valdez, Jake Odorizzi and José Urquidy to the starting rotation in the last week and the emergence of Luis Garcia has given Houston a starting pitching rotation the 2018 team would have been proud of. 

“In October, if we keep playing like this, where I see us is on the way to the World Series,” Valdez said. “God willing, that’s where we’ll be at. We just want to be fighting to get better all the time. If we keep playing like this, there’s no reason we can’t compete at the end of the season.”