HOUSTON, TX – June 24, 2025 – The Houston Astros opened their homestand with a classic pitcher’s duel and a dramatic finish, defeating the Philadelphia Phillies 1-0 last night at Daikin Park. A solo home run by Cooper Hummel in the eighth inning proved to be the difference, while Framber Valdez and two relievers combined for a masterful four-hit shutout.
Astros left-hander Framber Valdez delivered a superb performance, pitching seven scoreless innings, allowing just four hits and four walks while striking out three. He received a no-decision. The win went to Bryan Abreu (2-3), who pitched a perfect eighth inning, and Josh Hader (S, 20) closed it out with a scoreless ninth for his 20th save of the season. For the Phillies, Ranger Suárez (6-2) was equally brilliant but took the tough-luck loss, giving up only one run on four hits over 7.2 innings, striking out seven.
The game was a scoreless stalemate through seven and a half innings, a testament to the dominant pitching on both sides. Valdez navigated through some traffic but consistently got key outs, including two inning-ending double plays. Suárez was nearly unhittable through the early innings, retiring the first ten Astros he faced.
The deadlock was finally broken in the bottom of the eighth inning. With one out, Cooper Hummel stepped to the plate and launched a solo home run to right-center field off Suárez, giving the Astros the only run they would need. It was Hummel’s second home run of the season and his third RBI.
The Phillies tried to rally in the top of the ninth, but Josh Hader struck out two batters to secure the shutout victory for Houston.
The Astros’ offense managed only five hits in the game, with Hummel collecting two of them. The Phillies were limited to four hits.
The hard-fought win improved the Astros’ record to 46-33 and gave them a 1-0 lead in the three-game home series against the Phillies.