AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: ASTROS VS RED SOX

October 15, 2021

Framber Valdez

Minute Maid Park

Houston Astros

Postgame 1 Press Conference

Astros - 5, Red Sox - 4

Q. What was the issue with your control today, and how disappointed were you to only be able to go two and two-thirds?

FRAMBER VALDEZ: Yeah, honestly, I felt a little bit uncomfortable with myself. Just wanted to give more today, but that's how baseball is. Things like this happen, so I just have to put it behind me and work to get ready for the next one.

Q. What did you think of your curveball today? You used your sinker a whole lot more than your curveball. Was that because the curveball wasn't working, or was that part of the plan was to use the sinker a lot?

FRAMBER VALDEZ: I didn't throw the curveball as much today because I didn't like how it was working for me. I felt like I was leaving it up a lot, and it wasn't where I wanted to locate it, so I relied a lot more on my sinker. But it's just things that happen. I felt like that was my better pitch to be able to throw strikes today.

Q. Your bullpen gave you a big lift today. Particularly Cristian Javier striking out five of the eight he faced. Can you talk about his performance and what made him so effective?

FRAMBER VALDEZ: Like I told him, things happen in baseball that you're not expecting. As soon as you think something is going to happen is when it doesn't, so he had a lot of success today. He had a really good outing. He punched out five. Had a lot of success for us. It was really important, so that's just how baseball is sometimes. You never know what's going to happen.

Q. Can you talk about just the defense that you had behind you? It's one of the things Carlos talked about. It's not just the pitching, but the defense you get along with it.

FRAMBER VALDEZ: We have a really good defense, and it means a lot for the pitching staff especially. Especially when you get into tough spots, you have a great defense behind you to help you get out of those spots with a lot of good plays. Correa, Altuve, Bregman, all of them are capable of making plays in great spots. It gives you confidence as a pitcher knowing you have a defense behind you that can make plays like that.