The Detroit Tigers needed left-hander Framber Valdez – the highest-paid player on their payroll – to step up after losing left-hander Tarik Skubal for the foreseeable future.
Instead, Valdez melted down.
The 32-year-old gave up 10 runs without recording an out in the fourth inning, plunked Trevor Story with a 94.4 mph four-seam fastball in what appeared to be an intentional hit-by-pitch and received an ejection for his behavior.
It was the only four-seam fastball that Valdez has thrown in the 2026 season.
The Tigers lost, 10-3, to the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday, May 5, in the second of three games in the series at Comerica Park. They’ve lost back-to-back games since placing Skubal on the injured list Monday with loose bodies in his left elbow, requiring surgery.
The Tigers (18-19) will try to avoid the sweep Wednesday (6:40 p.m., Detroit SportsNet) against the Red Sox (15-21), with struggling right-hander Jack Flaherty, who has a 5.90 ERA in seven starts, on the mound.
In Tuesday’s game, Valdez allowed 10 runs (seven earned runs) on nine hits and one walk with three strikeouts across three-plus innings, throwing 60 pitches. He generated just six whiffs for a lowly 17.6% whiff rate, while the Red Sox tagged him for a 93.3 mph average exit velocity on 16 balls in play.
The big swings?
Ceddanne Rafaela hit a three-run home run (after a fielding error by third baseman Zach McKinstry, fresh off the injured list) for a 3-0 lead in the first inning, then Willson Contreras and Wilyer Abreu hit solo home runs for a 9-2 lead and a 10-2 lead, respectively, in the fourth inning.
Both Contreras and Abreu flipped their bats in celebration.
After the back-to-back homers, Valdez threw a fastball at Story that led to the benches and bullpens clearing for both teams. Players and coaches exchanged words, but there wasn’t any fighting between the two teams.
The Red Sox did most of their damage in the third inning.
A leadoff walk set the tone for Valdez’s struggles.
He then allowed a run on four singles in a row from Rafela (4-2 lead), Andruw Monasterio (5-2), Caleb Durbin (6-2) and Connor Wong (7-2). It became an 8-2 lead when Isiah Kiner-Falefa grounded into a force out.
Valdez owns a 4.57 ERA in eight starts.
Meanwhile, the Tigers scored three runs on seven hits and three walks with 12 strikeouts.
The first two runs came in the first inning.
Matt Vierling hit a leadoff home run off left-handed reliever Jovani Morán, who served as an opener for right-hander Brayan Bello. He pulled a middle-in changeup to left field. After that, Wenceel Pérez delivered an RBI single with two outs.
Those runs cut the Tigers’ deficit to 3-2, only for Valdez to waste the momentum by continuing his implosion.
The Tigers scored their only other run in the fifth inning, when Dingler delivered a first-pitch single for an RBI after singles from Vierling and Kerry Carpenter set the table.
Bello fired seven innings of one-run ball.
He entered Tuesday’s game with a 9.12 ERA in six starts.
After Valdez’s ejection, the Tigers used three relievers to complete the game: right-hander Brenan Hanifee for three innings, right-hander Burch Smith for two innings and left-hander Enmanuel De Jesus for one inning.
Hanifee threw 33 pitches.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Framber Valdez melts down in Detroit Tigers’ blowout loss to Red Sox
Reporting by Evan Petzold, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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