HOUSTON - The 2022 World Series features multiple aces. Regardless of one's definition -- your mileage may vary, but I generally believe an ace means a No. 1 starter and with 30 teams it's a top-30 pitcher -- Justin Verlander is absolutely an ace. He's likely to win the 2022 Cy Young. On the Phillies side, we've spent a lot of time, rightfully, discussing their pair of aces in Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola.
Is Framber Valdez an ace? I think we can fit him in there. I understand my definition is a bit more liberal than some, but he has a great case to be considered an ace by several different thresholds. He's the least heralded of all the names I've mentioned, but he's a workhorse, All-Star, Cy Young contender and looked the part in Game 2, a 5-2 Astros win. Call him the Unsung Ace of the World Series.
And, frankly, he's the only one of the four starters to have pitched like an ace this series. Verlander, Wheeler and Nola have combined to allow 15 runs in 14 1/3 innings. Valdez has been the star.
A big story in Game 2 was the Astros jumping on Wheeler in the first, notably punishing his first-pitch strike offerings. The Phillies defense let them down and suddenly it was 3-0. No one should lose focus from what Valdez did, though. He's one of the biggest reasons this series is now tied, 1-1, heading to Philadelphia.
Valdez had a breakout season in 2022. He posted a 2.81 ERA in 31 starts and led the AL in both innings pitched and complete games. The addition of a cutter is part of what helped make him into a first-time All-Star.
"The cutter's been good for me this year," he said Friday during a pregame press conference. "I've gotten good results with that pitch. When you get good results there you don't change anything. So I'm going to continue throwing it. It's been good."
Not only does he get good results with the cutter on its own, but it also helps setup his sinker, as both pitches come out of the hand similarly and have essentially the same shape to hitters.
Saturday night in Game 2, Valdez threw 10 cutters, two of which got swings and misses. It wasn't heavy use, but the point of adding it to his arsenal was to keep hitters more off-balance. He relied heavily on his sinker and curveball, getting 13 swings and misses with the two pitches while inducing some weak contact.
The final line: 6 1/3 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 9 K.
The one run he allowed crossed the plate on another pitcher's watch, though the runner, Nick Castellanos, did reach base against Valdez, so he gets charged with the run. That's an ace-like line these days. In fact, would you believe this was the longest outing for a starting pitcher in the World Series since 2019? For real, the last time someone went this deep was also in Minute Maid Park. Zack Greinke worked 6 1/3 innings in Game 7 in 2019.
This was not the first World Series start of Valdez's career. Last year, he had a hand in keeping that Greinke stat alive, making two starts against the Braves in which he struggled mightily, coughing up five runs in less than three innings both in Game 1 and Game 5. Now armed with his cutter and coming off said the aforementioned breakout season, things were much different.
"I think last year my emotions got the better of me during the World Series," he said Friday. "I think the key for this year is just continue doing what I've been doing, try not to let the game get away from me."
He was definitely in control of this game, from the very start. His first pitch was a called strike to Kyle Schwarber and it was a pretty dominant outing from there.
As the old saying goes, "momentum is the next game's starting pitcher." The Phillies stormed back from a five-run deficit to steal Game 1. An Astros loss here would have meant a 2-0 deficit heading to Philly. The momentum, however, was Framber Valdez. He is an ace and he pitched like it when the Astros badly needed a win. That's what aces do, after all.
