Valdez allowed two hits and two walks while striking out four over 2.2 scoreless innings in Saturday's game against the Mets.
Valdez faced traffic in each frame but escaped unscathed to run his string of scoreless innings to 4.2 while getting his pitch count to 50 (31 strikes). So far, so good in the left-hander's quest to win the No. 5 starter job. His three walks in 4.2 innings hints at the issue that has prevented Valdez from succeeding in the big leagues, but his ability to work around difficulty and slow things down when getting into a jam was an encouraging sign.