AL DIVISION SERIES: MARINERS VS ASTROS

October 12, 2022

Framber Valdez

Minute Maid Park

Houston Astros

Workout Day Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Who has the first question for Framber?

Q. What's your impression of Castillo and can you compare and contrast your pitching styles a little bit?

FRAMBER VALDEZ: I think he's a really good pitcher. He's a pitcher that improved a ton. I think we can all agree with that. He's a guy that has really good command.

But on the other hand, I also feel that I have really good command. I think I'm also a really good pitcher. I know how to manage myself out there, and we'll see what happens.

Q. I know you've pitched several times in the postseason already but do you still get excited? Do you get butterflies every time it's your chance to start again in the playoffs?

FRAMBER VALDEZ: Not necessarily that I get nervous, but I definitely do get excited. It's kind of one of those things that not every team has the opportunity to be in the postseason every single year. Thankfully we have been for the last couple years, but that's a moment that I think we need to appreciate and have fun.

Q. How do you envision it will be like following what happened last night tomorrow night, the emotion and trying to continue the momentum of what developed last night and potentially going up 2-0?

FRAMBER VALDEZ: I think tomorrow is going to be a really good game. Like we saw last night, we had a lot of energy, and I think that it's really important for us to continue that energy going into tomorrow's game, especially last night when Yordan came up with guys on, we knew something good was going to happen.

Again, for tomorrow, I think we just continue the same energy, continue being positive.

Q. In the playoffs last year, you had a really good start against Boston, a couple other starts that weren't so good. What did you kind of learn about yourself in the playoffs last year and what do you kind of take away that will help you this year in the playoffs?

FRAMBER VALDEZ: I think that from the good starts just continue doing the same thing from those starts, and the bad starts, I think just trying to stay a little bit more focused.

My plan is going to be just throw a lot of strikes, try to stay in the strike zone, trust my pitches, trust my team, and just continue going forward throwing strikes to be able to continue forward in the playoffs and hopefully get to the World Series.

Q. Tomorrow it's going to be a matchup between two Dominican-born aces. Do you take a lot of pride in that, in the competition? Have you done a little trash talk with Castillo?

FRAMBER VALDEZ: Yeah, I haven't gotten a chance to talk to him much, but it's definitely something that's going to be really exciting to Latin-born players, pitchers, going out there on the mound and just representing also our country. I think that we're both really excited for it.

For tomorrow, just hopefully go out there, have a really good game, just continue and have the same focus that I have had throughout the playoffs and hopefully the team, obviously, helps us win.

Q. Throughout the years, we used to see Carlos Correa would be the guy that would come out and maybe calm you out in some situations. Who is that guy for you now on the team that's stepping up when somebody needs to say something to you?

FRAMBER VALDEZ: I think Maldie has been the guy this year. Sometimes when I'm losing focus or losing the strike zone, he'll sometimes yell at me from the plate or go out to the mound and talk to me. And sometimes even between innings in the dugout he'll be the person that will come and talk to me and calm me down a little bit more. He definitely has been a big part of what I've been able to do this year.

Q. You talk about being more focused and controlled and everything here now in the playoffs. Do you change anything in your routine going into a game like this?

FRAMBER VALDEZ: No, my routine really hasn't changed since the beginning of the postseason. I think that just trying to maintain the same focus that I had in the regular season and just trying to stay focused through out the whole game.

I think the one thing that maybe changed a little bit will be the intensity just because we are in the postseason. But this is going to be the same baseball that we played all year, and just trying to just maintain the same focus we had all year.

Q. You have the highest ground ball rate in the league, meaning you rely a lot on your infield defense. What gives you confidence that they can play the type of mistake-free ball here in the playoffs that you've seen throughout the year?

FRAMBER VALDEZ: I think it's the same baseball. There will be a little bit more intensity just because of the fans and just the environment, but in the different vibes.

But I have full trust in my infield. It doesn't matter what happened in the past, I have a lot of trust in them. They obviously have been a really big part of what I've been able to do this year, and because of that I will continue throwing my sinker, continue getting ground balls because I know they have my back.

Q. Have you had a chance to sit back for a minute this season and enjoy what you've accomplished to date?

FRAMBER VALDEZ: Yeah, a little bit. At the end of the regular season I got a little bit of chance to sit down, but then I thought, the season is not over yet. I think I haven't really gotten a chance to really enjoy and think about like everything that I've done.

I think after the World Series is over and we're done playing, I think that's when I'm going to actually sit down and enjoy and think about all the things that I did this year.