Valdez has MLB-record 25th quality start, Astros down A’s
By KRISTIE RIEKEN
AP Sports Writer
HOUSTON (AP) — Framber Valdez set an MLB record with his 25th straight quality start, and Yordan Alvarez and Martin Maldonado had four RBIs each to help the Houston Astros build an early lead in an 11-2 rout of the Oakland Athletics. Alvarez drove in three runs with a double in Houston’s five-run third inning and padded the lead with an RBI double the sixth inning. He extended his hitting streak to a season-high nine games. Valdez allowed four hits and two runs with seven strikeouts in six innings to pass Jacob deGrom dor the most consecutive quality starts in a single season in MLB history. Maldonado tied a career-high with his first four-hit game since 2015 and scored four times for the first time in his 12-year career.