ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Astros have tolerated, not trusted, Framber Valdez. The complaisance expired on Monday.

A confluence of circumstances required the team to enter the series opener at Angel Stadium hellbent on riding the struggling southpaw as long as possible. Tuesday is another bullpen game. Using as few relievers as possible was the goal and Valdez was the avenue there.

Bear in mind, Valdez is a pitcher who pitched into the fourth inning once in his last three starts. He did not finish the first on Thursday against the Rangers. Opponents spit on his plus curveball, cognizant Valdez can throw nothing else for a strike.

"We were going to kind of have to get through the game as best we could and get 85, 90, 100 pitches out of him in the middle part of the game," manager A.J. Hinch said. "It's unfortunate when you go into a game that way. It's unusual but it's kind of the way that it's gone for us the last few times through the rotation."

Good outings against the Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays in June were just that — fine performances against pitiful competition. Valdez has failed in the four starts since and will not receive another. Hinch said as much after Monday night's 9-6 loss in which Valdez allowed seven runs in four innings.

Valdez now has a 16.36 ERA in his last four starts.

"I feel disappointed right now," Valdez said through an interpreter. "This is not what I've been accustomed to, this is not what I did last year. The last couple starts have been tough. You can't deny that it's been disappointing thus far."

Valdez's latest implosion leaves his team in a terrible position. Collin McHugh threw 32 pitches on Monday to clean up his mess. That could eliminate him on a day Houston will require every ounce of effort from its relievers. The Astros will start another opener on Tuesday, though Hinch did not reveal who it was after Monday's game.

They have no internal option to recall for a spot start on Tuesday. Hinch said a fresh arm will join the team on Tuesday to lend help. The manager did not reveal who was coming up. Nor did he say who was going down.

"We're not in a good spot for tomorrow," Hinch said. "We'll find a way to come out and try to win."

A safe assumption is Valdez will be jettisoned to Class AAA — possibly for good. Rogelio Armenteros is the team's only uninjured 40-man roster option available for a promotion. Even he will be on short rest, having thrown 96 pitches on Friday.

Neither Cy Sneed nor Jose Urquidy has been in the minor leagues for 10 days, leaving them ineligible for a call-up unless they're a replacement for a player headed to the injured list.

That these three men are the only options underscores the Astros' urgent need for rotation help. General manager Jeff Luhnow acknowledged Monday afternoon he was "immediately" seeking a short-term solution from the outside.

As a last-ditch effort for Valdez, the Astros employed an opener on Monday. Josh James pitched a clean, 18-pitch first inning.

Valdez turned in four miserable frames to follow. He threw 85 pitches. Location of his two-seam fastball was nonexistent. Implementing a little-used changeup allowed variance but only delayed the inevitable.

Angels reached scoring position in every inning Valdez worked. He allowed nine batters to face him in a four-run fifth. It began fittingly with an inexcusable walk. Valdez allowed nine-hole hitter Michael Hermosillo, a man with 62 career major league plate appearances, to reach on five pitches. The lineup turned over.

The results have become trademark. Two men struck hits. Two others walked. Cleanup hitter Justin Upton dribbled a ground ball to Valdez who, amazingly, threw to second base instead of first. The baseball pegged Shohei Ohtani, who slid in safely.

"Just an implosion inning where things got away from him a little bit," Hinch said. "The early part of the game he was good, but as the outing went on it got a few too many walks, a few too many ill-advised pitches, a ball to the backstop.

"It wasn't good."

Bad enough to extinguish any remaining hope for Valdez to turn his season around at the major league level.

Toward the end of a two-minute postgame news conference, Hinch was asked if he would "consider using an opener for Framber again."

"I'm not sure Framber gets another shot at the rotation," the manager interrupted.