AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: ASTROS VS RED SOX

October 14, 2021

Framber Valdez

Minute Maid Park

Houston Astros

Workout Day Press Conference

Q. Hi, Framber. What does it mean to you to be in this position and with the team to have the confidence in you to start the series? I know you've been there before, but for them to continue to have the confidence in you to start this series?

FRAMBER VALDEZ: Yeah, I feel really good. I feel really good about it. I think that the confidence is something that you earn out there with the performance that you have when you go out there, and you demonstrate time after time that the team can count on you to get through innings, to keep you in games. That's where you earn the confidence of your team.

So I feel really good about it because I know that I've worked really hard to be able to have the results that I have and be able to have the performances that I have, and it means a lot that they have the confidence in me to be a starter for tomorrow.

Q. What did you learn about pitching in the postseason last year, and in particular perhaps if you could share what it meant to you that Carlos came to you in that Tampa series, got with you on the mound, encouraged you, and it looked like he might have even challenged you to be your best at that moment.

FRAMBER VALDEZ: Yeah, with the Carlos Correa situation, he was just telling me just focus on what you need to do in the situation, get a ground ball out. And we need you, you're the guy for this situation, just get things under control and get us out of this situation.

And pitching in the playoffs, it's where you show who you really are. It's what adds up over the course of the season, and it's a chance to show who you really are as a pitcher in the postseason.

Q. (Question in Spanish)

FRAMBER VALDEZ: I feel really proud of myself to be able to make my own story in this postseason, to have the opportunity to win the confidence of a manager who doesn't mess around. You know, he acts on -- he has a ton of baseball experience, and he acts on it. So to be able to achieve the goals of first being in the Big Leagues, being a member of the Houston Astros and now winning the confidence of the manager to be the starter for the Game 1 of the postseason in the ALCS.

Q. (Question in Spanish)

FRAMBER VALDEZ: Yeah, I don't feel a ton of pressure on me. You know, obviously there's some tension in a game like this, but I try not to think about any kind of pressure. The key to having success in a game like this is just to go out there and do the job that you've been doing over the course of the whole season. It adds up, the experience you've had over a year, so I'm just going to be in a positive mindset out there focusing on getting outs and not worrying about any kind of pressure.

Q. You faced them twice pretty much right after you came off the IL. You had two good starts against them. What made you successful in those two outings, and just how do you compare your stuff now to then?

FRAMBER VALDEZ: Yeah, like I said before, you can't change your routine too much just because it's a big game, because it's on a bigger stage. What you have to do is just maintain the routine that's been working for you. You can make some small adjustments on it, keep working it, but you don't want to get away from what's worked for you because that's when you're not going to be able to have success in moments like this.

I'm going to go out and throw all my pitches with intensity like I always have. Four seam, two seam, the changeup, curveball. Intensity and attack the strike zone, but I'm not planning on changing my game plan at all. It's just a matter of maintaining my routine and what's worked for me so far this season.

Q. As a child what were your first memories of the playoffs? Who were your idols? What does it mean to you that now kids in the Dominican are watching you?

FRAMBER VALDEZ: Yeah, in reality I didn't really have a way to watch too many games as a kid in the Dominican, but I heard about baseball a ton. I've seen videos of guys like Pedro Martinez throwing. And now that I'm in this situation and they have a chance to watch me pitch, just gives me a lot of happiness, you know, to be able to know that every time I throw a pitch, someone is celebrating it.

It means a lot for the people back in the Dominican, for my family as well, and I'm really proud just to know that I'm able to give some happiness to people back home that are watching me pitch.

Q. What were the most important adjustments you made after the 2019 season?

FRAMBER VALDEZ: Yeah, I feel like the pitch quality has always been there for me. More than anything, it's just the mentality change that I had. You know, I think it's about working and focusing on what it is that you need to do. You can't just go out and feel like you're going to throw strikes and get outs. It's not that easy. When you work and really focus on what the task at hand is and what you are trying to accomplish, you know, attacking the strike zone and throwing everything with intensity, that's when you start having success. So after that year, I think the biggest change for me was just my mentality and how I worked and thought about the game and didn't just take things for granted and try to just go out there and get strikes.

Q. (Question in Spanish)

FRAMBER VALDEZ: I feel really good. I feel really grateful with God and my family as well. I'm really happy and proud for the opportunity to know that all the Dominicans can see a Dominican pitcher go against the Red Sox tomorrow, against Boston. It makes me really happy just to have the opportunity and I'm really appreciative of all the support of all the Dominican people that they've given me as well.