PITTSBURGH (AP) — Framber Valdez pitched seven strong innings, Isaac Paredes homered twice, and the Houston Astros beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-2 after a lengthy rain delay on Thursday night.

Valdez (6-4) won his fifth straight decision by limiting the Pirates to two runs on five hits with three walks and a season-high 11 strikeouts after waiting out the delay that pushed the start of the game back 3 hours and 22 minutes. The left-hander is now 5-0 with a 1.72 ERA in his last six starts.

Paredes hit his 13th homer of the season leading off the fourth against Mitch Keller (1-8). His 14th, a two-run shot in the ninth, put the game away. Jeremy Peña added three hits and drove in a run for the Astros. The shortstop is batting .361 since moving to the leadoff spot on April 27.

Jake Melton,

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