Framber Valdez has the perfect mentality after coming oh so close to a no-hitter

The last out is always the hardest. Framber Valdez was one pitch away from becoming the second player in Houston Astros history to have recorded multiple hitters. They were up 4-0 on the division rival Texas Rangers before Corey Seager's two-run bomb in the bottom of the ninth brought to end all thoughts of the no-hitter and shut-out bid. Why is it always the 27th out that does this in baseball?

The Astros' star pitcher seemed to be more happy about getting the win anyway. After Houston has played so much better in recent weeks. They are fighting tooth and nail for first place in the AL West with the Seattle Mariners. All the while, the defending World Series champion Rangers are not that many games behind both of them sitting in third place. Houston needed to get this one past Texas.

Still, Valdez did not seem over fazed by not getting to record the final out from Arlington on Tuesday.

“I’m happy. Not everybody gets to get a no-hitter all the way to the ninth inning. For me, the most important thing is the team won and I won and I battled," said Valdez, h/t MLB.com.

Valdez later said that he considered throwing a different pitch to Seager, but settled on the cutter.

“I thought maybe about throwing the sinker there, but my cutter was still fairly good and he was able to hit it out. He’s a tremendous hitter and that’s what he goes up there to try to do, is hit the ball.”

Houston enters play on Wednesday at 58-55 on the year, half a game back of Seattle in the division.

Framber Valdez has the right approach after coming up short of no-hit bid

When you are a pitcher as good as Valdez is, you don't think about all the pitches you have thrown in your life before. You think about making the next one great. Even if All-Star players like Seager make millions to put hanging cutters like Valdez's offering deep into the sultry summer Texas night, who won the game at the end of the day? That would be Houston, a team who is starting to make the turn.

For the last five seasons, Houston has been an annual fixture in the ALCS. The Astros may only have won World Series ring to show for it, but they have been to the Fall Classic multiple times over since the scandalous 2017 MLB season. Texas are no slouches either, as skipper Bruce Bochy was the right manager to lead the Rangers to the long-awaited promise land. They could get hot in a hurry as well.

What I like about Valdez's approach to giving up a no-hitter to his final batter of the game is he knows there are bigger fish to fry beyond this. Valdez has been a huge part in this era of Astros baseball. It is about contending for championships, year in and year out. You will get accolades and have many opportunities to achieve cool feats like a no-hitter on occasion, but it is always about the winning.

Houston may not win the World Series, but the Astros could have a say in who plays for it in the AL.