Framber Valdez of the Houston Astros had a poor start in last year’s World Series against the Atlanta Braves.
On the third pitch of the first game of that Fall Classic, Cuban Jorge Soler hit a home run that hit the Crawford boxes, in front of left field, in Houston.
The Braves won the World Series in six games and Soler won the Most Valuable Player award.
Valdez finished last year’s World Series 0-1 with a 19.29 ERA, hitting four homers in 4 2/3 innings and starting Game 5 again.
On Friday, a day before his start in Game 2 against Philadelphia, Valdez said he got carried away last year in the World Series.
He pointed out that this year it seemed key to him to continue doing what he has done, without letting control of the game slip away from him in order to achieve good results.
As Astros manager Dusty Baker put it: The only way to keep young players quiet in the most important phase of Major League Baseball would be to “hypnotize them, I guess.”
“I am serious. How do you avoid emotion?” said Baker, 73. “Something you have seen and aspired to achieve since you were a child. As Hank Aaron told me: ‘It’s okay to be nervous, but don’t be afraid.’”
The 28-year-old left-hander Valdez went 17-6 with a 2.82 ERA this season.
He started Game 2 of the Division Series against Seattle and finished a no-decision, allowing two runs on four hits and three walks while striking out six in 5 2/3 innings.
On October 20, Valdez won Game 2 of the American League Championship Series against the New York Yankees. In that game he allowed four hits, walked none and struck out nine in seven shutout innings.
For his part, Zack Wheeler will be the starter for Philadelphia for the second duel. He went 12-7 with a 2.82 ERA with the Phillies, although he was inactive from August 20 to September 21 due to tendinitis in his right forearm.
Wheeler pitched 6 1/3 innings without a decision in the wild-card opener against St. Louis and lost to Atlanta in Game 2 of the Division Series, allowing three runs in six innings.
The pitcher shutout San Diego in seven innings of Game 1 of the NL Championship Series and was a nondecision in Game 5 against the Padres, giving up two runs in six innings.
Josh Bell hit a ground ball that hit Wheeler on the inside of his left knee.
“It hurts but it’s okay,” Wheeler said. “It did hurt at the time and of course for the next two days, but it’s fine now.”
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Valdez and Wheeler meet in Game 2 of the World Series