ANAHEIM, Calif. — Framber Valdez outscored Shohei Ohtani for 6 2/3 innings of two-hit ball, and the Houston Astros matched the best winning streak in history on the first day of the MLB season with a 3-3 win Thursday. -1 to the Los Angeles Angels.
Alex Bregman had an early RBI single and a late home run for the Astros, who won their 10th straight season start. This equals the mark achieved in the late 19th century by the Boston Beaneaters, today’s Atlanta Braves.
Valdez (1-0) dominated in his first start in April, striking out six and walking just one to start. The left-hander retired 15 straight batters on Matt Duffy’s single in the second, and was substituted after Duffy’s infield single in the seventh.
Ohtani (0-1) struck out nine in a four-hit, one-run effort that lasted into the fifth inning. Despite taking the loss, the ambivalent Japanese entered major league history: He became the first player to throw his team’s first pitch of the season — a 99-mph fastball to the ground against the Venezuelan. José Altuve — and faces the first against.
The Angels lost their first game of the season for the eighth time in nine years.
Houston closer Ryan Pressly earned the save with a one-inning, one-hit pitch.
For the Astros, the Venezuelan José Altuve 3-0. Cubans Yordan Álvarez 3-1, with a run scored and an RBI; Yulieski Gurriel 4-1. The Dominican Jeremy Peña 4-0. Puerto Rican Martin Maldonado 4-0.