Astros' Framber Valdez Amazes Twitter With Dominance in No-Hitter vs. Guardians

Framber Valdez has joined the no-no club.

The Houston Astros ace pitched the third no-hitter of the 2023 MLB season and the first of his career on Tuesday, giving up just one walk and striking out seven Cleveland Guardians batters en route to a 2-0 win at Minute Maid Park.

He was at the peak of efficiency, needing only 93 pitches to get the job done:

And MLB Twitter was loving it:

So on the same day the defending champs got Justin Verlander back in a trade with the New York Mets—a deal that will see the Mets pay "$35 million out of the $58 million remaining on Verlander's deal in 2023 and 2024 and $17.5 million of his 2025 option if it vests," per ESPN's Alden Gonzalez and Jeff Passan—they also get a no-hitter from Valdez.

How was your Tuesday?

Another fun factoid from Valdez's no-no—it was the third one caught by Martin Maldonado:

The only thing that didn't go the Astros' way was that they didn't make up any ground on the Texas Rangers, who beat the Chicago White Sox 2-0 on Tuesday. The Rangers (61-46) remain a half game ahead of the Astros (61-47) in the AL West.

The Astros, however, are firmly in a wild-card spot, four games clear of the Boston Red Sox. They are 11-6 since the All-Star break, and the addition of Verlander has them looking very much like favorites in the American League.

It should be a fun two months down the stretch as Houston prepares, yet again, for October baseball.