PHOENIX, AZ – July 23, 2025 – The Houston Astros secured their second consecutive victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday night, grinding out a tight 3-1 win fueled by another dominant outing from Framber Valdez and yet another clutch home run from red-hot rookie Brice Matthews. This win moves the Astros to 2-0 in the three-game series.
Framber Valdez (11-4) was the undisputed star on the mound for Houston, extending his remarkable winning streak to ten games. The left-hander navigated seven effective innings, surrendering just one run on seven hits while striking out four. Valdez demonstrated his signature ability to escape jams, repeatedly making key pitches to strand Diamondbacks runners and keep his team in the game.
The contest was a classic pitching duel for much of the night. Arizona’s starter, Eduardo Rodriguez, held the Astros scoreless through 6.1 innings, while the Diamondbacks managed to scratch across the game’s first run in the fifth inning on an RBI groundout.
However, the Astros’ surging offense, particularly with rookie Brice Matthews leading the charge, found a way to break through. In the top of the eighth inning, after a walk to Taylor Trammell, Matthews stepped to the plate and launched a two-run home run off Arizona reliever Jake Woodford. This third home run in as many games for the young second baseman gave Houston its first lead of the night at 2-1 and proved to be the decisive blow.
The Astros added a crucial insurance run in the ninth when Jose Altuve, who had singled, scored on a wild pitch by D-backs reliever Kyle Backhus, pushing the lead to 3-1.
The bottom of the ninth proved to be tense. Bryan King, pitching in place of a rested Josh Hader, allowed three consecutive singles to load the bases with nobody out. However, King showed tremendous poise under pressure. He struck out Blaze Alexander for the first out and then induced a game-ending 4-6-3 double play off the bat of Jose Herrera, with Brice Matthews making a sharp play at second base, to record his first save of the season.
With this hard-fought win, the Houston Astros improve their record to 59-42 on the season. They will look to complete the series sweep against the Diamondbacks in the afternoon finale today.