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The Detroit Tigers paid Framber Valdez a lot of money to make him a pitcher they could rely on. And yesterday, they needed him to give the team a boost.
But in his first start since the excellent Tarik Skubal got injured, Valdez collapsed.
Against the Boston Red Sox, he gave up 10 runs (in just over three innings) in a 10-3 loss for his team. Notably, he gave up back-to-back home runs to start the fourth inning.
Then, during his next at-bat, Valdez reminded everyone just what a terrible teammate he is. The guy who intentionally hit his catcher in Houston in 2025 chose to hit Trevor Story… on purpose. The benches cleared.
Along with the good STUFF of Framber Valdez comes the bad…
The mental side of pitching.
After back-to-back HRs and 10 ER, he does this… pic.twitter.com/RIw9wHf2HU
— Ben Verlander (@BenVerlander) May 5, 2026
Sometimes, hitting a batter is justified. But in this case, Valdez was just angry at his performance and maybe even wanted to get ejected from the game—which is what happened, in the end. It was just selfish.
He didn't complain too much when the umpire sent him to the showers, and he hit Story with his first four-seam fastball of the season. He may say he didn't mean to hit Story, but we're not stupid either…
The Red Sox were angry after the game. Could this give the team a boost?
And even A.J. Hinch, his manager in Detroit, said he didn't feel he was on the right side of the story when he went out onto the field following his pitcher's action, as the benches emptied.
AJ Hinch doesn't feel comfortable defending Framber Valdez, who denies hitting Trevor Story on purpose pic.twitter.com/exi2U3uGs7
— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) May 6, 2026
Ouch…
The pitcher now faces a suspension at a time when several of the team's pitchers are already injured. And that's where we see why Valdez didn't sign a long-term deal this winter.
Framber Valdez's decision last night sets him up for a suspension—the guess here is he'll get 7 games—at a time when the Tigers are missing these pitchers due to injury:
Skubal, Verlander, Mize, Melton, Jobe, Vest.— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) May 6, 2026
- Jordan Romano: minor league contract with Colorado.
The Rockies have had some surprisingly good pitching performances this year.
Romano might be running out of opportunities. Curious to see what adjustments they make with him. https://t.co/2Euz7FNcnc
— Brandon Wile (@Brandon_N_Wile) May 6, 2026
- Shohei Ohtani: a strong outing (two runs in seven innings) marred by the Dodgers' lack of offense. His team lost 2-1.
In Shohei Ohtani's last nine starts, he has given up just 4 earned runs in 51.2 innings for a 0.70 ERA.
The Dodgers are 2-7 in those games.
They lost 2-1 tonight to the Houston Astros, with Ohtani giving up just 4 hits and 2 runs in 7 innings.— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) May 6, 2026
- Toronto Blue Jays fans who were in Tampa Bay yesterday saw their baseball team lose, but their hockey team win the draft lottery.
The fans here at the Trop are really into it. Just heard a couple of “Go Leafs Go” chants moments after the Maple Leafs won the NHL draft lottery.
— Ben Nicholson-Smith (@bnicholsonsmith) May 5, 2026
- A patch the Yankees will wear.
Starting May 18, the Yankees will wear a custom memorial patch honoring John Sterling on their uniforms for the rest of the season.
(Via: @Yankees) pic.twitter.com/hZbvseBVfD
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) May 5, 2026
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