Framber Valdez strikes out 10 in 6 1/3 innings as Astros beat Dodgers 5-0

Joey Loperfido had an RBI single in the second and made an excellent leaping grab to rob Shohei Ohtani of extra bases in the third. Mauricio Dubón added an RBI double in the eighth.

“We like some homers, if you ask me,” Houston manager Joe Espada said. “I like some slug, but that’s what we are right now. We just have to find ways to score runs.”

Valdez (9-5) had four hits to earn his fourth consecutive victory.

“He was really, really, really good,” Espada said. “Sinker in the zone early, up to 97 (mph), saw it 98 (mph), and the breaking ball down under. Efficient early. He was locked in. He was really good.”

In six of his last seven starts, he has allowed three runs or fewer.

“It obviously means a lot to me and the team to leave the team in that winning position and give the team a chance to win,” Valdez said in Spanish through an interpreter.

Ohtani was 2-for-3 with a walk, eliminating the Dodgers for the fifth time this season.

After Ohtani singled to lead off the game, Valdez retired 16 batters in a row, including the last six by strikeout, before Gavin Lux singled with one out in the sixth. Valdez loaded the bases, but he struck out Teoscar Hernández and forced a flyout for Andy Pages to end the threat.

The Dodgers had runners on the corners with one out in the seventh inning, but Bryan Abreu struck out Nick Ahmed and Bregman tagged out Kiké Hernández, who overran second base on an infield single by Lux.

“Framber was good tonight, so you knew it was going to be a challenge to put innings together and build innings,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “We put pressure on him for that one inning, but he pitched when he needed to.”

Gavin Stone (9-4) gave up four runs on nine hits with three strikeouts in six innings. Stone gave up four runs for the third time in his last four starts.

“I felt good, I just threw two pitches over the plate and they hit it well,” Stone said.

Astros: RHP Luis Garcia (right elbow surgery) threw a 35-pitch bullpen on Friday, Espada said. … RHP Justin Verlander (neck soreness) is scheduled to throw a bullpen on Saturday, Espada said. … OF Kyle Tucker (right shin contusion) continued to do outfield drills on Friday and “he’s improving, but not at the rate we want,” Espada said.

Los Angeles traded LHP James Paxton to the Red Sox in exchange for minor league INF Moises Bolivar.

Dodgers LHP Justin Wrobleski (1-0, 4.40 ERA) starts Saturday opposite Astros RHP Ronel Blanco (9-5, 2.75 ERA).

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb