Framber Valdez solved seven innings with authority and Kyle Tucker had two hits for the Houston Astros beat the Boston Red Sox 2-1 on Wednesday night.
Valdez (1-0) allowed five hits and one run in a job that included 10 strikeouts. The Dominican gave away a pair of walks, in what was his second start of the season, after missing the first two months due to a broken left hand index, suffered in the postseason.
Hunter Renfroe singled off Ryan Pressly with a ninth-inning out, before advancing to second on a two-out single by Christian Vazquez. However, Pressly retired Christian Arroyo for his eighth save.
Nick Pivetta (6-1) suffered his first slip of the season. He allowed three hits and two runs over six episodes.
He had eight strikeouts for the second straight game.
For the Red Sox, the Puerto Ricans Kiké Hernández 4-0, Christian Vázquez 4-1. The Mexican Alex Verdugo 4-0. The Dominicans Rafael Devers 4-2, Danny Santana 1-0.
For the Astros, the Venezuelan José Altuve 2-0 with one scored. Puerto Ricans Carlos Correa 4-1, Martín Maldonado 3-0. The Cubans Yordan Álvarez 2-0, Yuli Gurriel 2-0 with an RBI. The Dominican Robel García 3-0.