Valdez fans 10 as Astros beat Phillies 3-2 in finale October 5 sharefacebooktwitterredditlink HOUSTON (AP) Framber Valdez struck out 10 in five shutout innings to lead the Houston Astros to 3-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies in the regular-season finale Wednesday.Christian Vazquez hit a solo homer and Chas McCormick and Yordan Alvarez drove in runs early to help Houston to its fourth victory in five games.It was the career-best 17th win for Valdez (17-6), which ranks second in the American League behind teammate Justin Verlanders 18. Valdez allowed just two singles and walked one as he surpa sed 200 innings pitched for the first time in his five-year career. Mauricio Dubon doubled to start Houstons third before scoring on a one-out double by McCormick to make it 1-0. There were two outs in the inning Domingo Santana Jersey when Alvarez lined a single to left field to send McCormick home and leave Houston up 2-0. Vazquez homered with two outs in the seventh to extend the lead to 3-0. Brandon Marsh hit and RBI double with one out in the seventh and the Phillies cut the lead to one on a sacrifice fly by Rhys Hoskins. However, Rafael Montero retired Darick Hall to end the inning. Closer Ryan Pre sly pitched a scorele s ninth for his 33rd save.The Astros, who won the AL West and clinched home-field advantage through the World Series, finished 106-56 for the second-best record in franchise history after going 95-67 last season and falling to the Braves in six games in the World Series. They came one win shy of the most wins in team history, earned by the 2019 team.The NL wild card Phillies end the season 87-75 a five-win improvement from last year and are in the playoffs for Yusei Kikuchi Jersey the first time in 11 years. Valdez wrapped up a strong season with his solid start Wednesday. He had 25 straight quality starts from April 25-Sept. 18 to set the MLB record for most consecutive in a single season. His 31 starts were a career-high and his 2.82 ERA ranks second-lowest of his career and sixth in the AL. The consistency of Valdez paired with ace Verlander gives the Astros a potent 1-2 punch at the front end of their rotation as they enter the playoffs.Houstons Ryne Stanek pitched a perfect seventh to lower his ERA to 1.16 to finish the season with the lowest by a reliever in franchise history. He eclipses Will Harris, who had a 1.50 ERA in 2019. Phillies starter Bailey Falter yielded two hits in one inning before he was lifted for Michael Pla smeyer (0-1). He allowed three runs and nine hits with six strikeouts in six innings.The Astros had a crowd of 32,432 Tim Lopes Jersey Wednesday to give them a season attendance of 2,698,998, down from the 2,857,367 fans they welcomed in the season before the pandemic in 2019.BROTHERLY LOVEHouston reliever Phil Maton faced his younger brother Nick Maton for the first time in the eighth inning. The brothers smiled at one another as Nick entered the box before getting down to busine s.Both teams were very engaged in the family showdown with most the players hanging on the railing in the dugouts to watch.The little brother won matchup, hitting a single to right field on a 2-2 count. Phil shook his head after seeing the ball sail by and Nick smiled sheepishly as he reached first base.Players in Philadelphias dugout raised their arms and cheered as Nick made contact and some Astros hung their heads after seeing the hit drop in the outfield. LIGHTS OUTThe lights in Minute Maid Park went out briefly in the second inning. Players and the umpires looked around darkened stadium wondering what was going on for a minute or so before they flickered back on, and play resumed. UP NEXTPhillies: Open their wild-card series at St. Louis Friday in their first playoff game since Oct. 7, 2011. Astros: Will face the winner of the Toronto-Seattle wild-card series starting Mitch Haniger Jersey Tuesday in Houston.___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports in this topic American League Framber Valdez Major League Baseball Houston Astros share Ottawa hosts Los Angeles after Giroux's 2-goal game The Ottawa Senators host the Los Angeles Kings after Claude Giroux's two-goal game against the San Jose Sharks in the Senators' 5-2 win 42 MINS AGO ASSOCIATED PRESS Penguins host the Blue Jackets following Kapanen's hat trick The Pittsburgh Penguins host the Columbus Blue Jackets after Kasperi Kapanen's hat trick against the St. Louis Blues in the Penguins' 6-2 win 42 MINS AGO ASSOCIATED PRESS Ducks bring losing streak into game against the Hurricanes The Anaheim Ducks aim to end their six-game losing streak when they play the Carolina Hurricanes 43 MINS AGO ASSOCIATED PRESS Blackhawks face the Metropolitan Division-leading Devils The Chicago Blackhawks face the top-ranked team in the Metropolitan Division, the New Jersey Guillermo Heredia Jersey Devils 43 MINS AGO ASSOCIATED PRESS Tampa Bay in action against Detroit following overtime victory The Tampa Bay Lightning host the Detroit Red Wings after the Lightning took down the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3 in overtime 43 MINS AGO ASSOCIATED PRESS