Maldonado Stays Hot, Lifts Houston Astros to Sixth-Straight Silver Boot Trophy

The Houston Astros secured their sixth consecutive Lone Star Series behind Martín Maldonado's three-run homer Thursday.

Kenny Van Doren | Aug 11, 2022

Maldonado Stays Hot, Lifts Houston Astros to Sixth-Straight Silver Boot Trophy /

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Houston Astros

Martín Maldonado's biggest weakness this season has quietly become a much-needed addition to the Houston Astros lineup. Maldonado — who entered the summer as one of the worst hitting catchers in baseball — continued his offensive surge with a three-run home run in Wednesday's win over the Texas Rangers.

The bottom third of the lineup kickstarted the Astros in the second frame. Jeremy Peña and Jake Meyers broke through slumps with back-to-back singles to put runners on with one out for Maldonado.

On the third pitch he saw, Maldonado cranked a three-run home run to left field off a center-cut fastball. It marked his second of the month, totaling seven RBI through his seventh start behind the dish in August.

The 35-year-old is carrying over a hot July into the fifth month of the season as he inches closer to a .700 OPS. In 20 at-bats since the start of the month, Maldonado has seven hits, three for extra bases.

Later in the inning, Yuli Gurriel knocked his 32nd double of the season. The 38-year-old hit 31 last season, finishing with the highest batting average in the American League.

Alex Bregman added to the Atros' lead in the fifth, launching his 14th home run of the season with a two-run shot into the Crawford Boxes. That run chased Cole Ragans out of the game after 4 1/3 innings in only his second Major League start.

Bregman drove home Gurriel again in the seventh, opening the inning with three-straight singles. An Aledmys Díaz sacrifice fly brought Kyle Tucker home a batter later. Tucker deked Rangers' Charlie Culberson into thinking he wasn't going to tag, leaving the outfielder double clutching in shallow left field.

Houston Astros Starting Pitcher Framber Valdez / Erik Williams-USA TODAY Sports

Off the rubber, Framber Valdez ran into trouble in the third inning following an infield single and a hit by pitch that appeared to catch the nob of Bubba Thompson's bat. Striking out a pair with two on, Valdez allowed a single up the middle. But the trusty glove of Jeremy Peña stopped the ball from reaching the outfield and prevented a run from scoring.

With the bases loaded, Valdez worked a fly out to Jonah Heim to halt any threat from the Rangers' offense. The lefty totaled seven innings in his afternoon start, moving him to first in the American League with 142.

With only four hits and a walk allowed, Valdez struck out eight batters in his 20th quality start of the season, 19th consecutive since April 25. His streak is the longest in Major League Baseball since New York Mets' Jacob deGrom's 26 consecutive quality starts from May 2018 to April 2019. Mike Scott holds Astros franchise record with 20 straight during his 1986 Cy Young season.

Valdez was named the YouTube Player of the Game. He joined Jake Meyers and Cristian Javier as Astros to win the award — both players earned it during the 2021 season.

Nathaniel Lowe and Leody Taveras singled home two runs in the eighth with two outs off Seth Martinez, ending the Astros' shutout. After his 17-straight scoreless innings streak was snapped June 26, Martinez has allowed eight runs over his last 15 2/3 innings.

Marcus Semien added a third run in the ninth inning on a two-out home run off Rafael Montero. But that's all the Rangers could manage against the Astros in the series loss.

The Astros secured their sixth consecutive Silver Boot trophy, dating back to the 2017 season. The club opens a three-game set with the Oakland A's at 7:10 p.m. Friday at Minute Maid Park. Luis García and Adam Oller are the probable starting pitchers.

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Published Aug 11, 2022

KENNY VAN DOREN

Kenny Van Doren is a writer for FanNation's 'Inside the Astros,' part of Sports Illustrated. Kenny formerly covered the Astros for Climbing Tal's Hill of FanSided. Kenny also attends the University of Missouri where he studies journalism.