Valdez's Early Struggles and Tigers' Resilience | Detroit Tigers News

Framber Valdez’s early-season woes deepened as he surrendered two runs in the first inning against the Guardians, adding to his troubling trend of 19 earned runs allowed in opening frames. Despite a shaky start, the Tigers fought back with Spencer Torkelson driving in two runs and Gleyber Torres launching a solo homer to take the lead. But Valdez’s command issues returned in the fifth, including a leadoff walk that set up a Guardians’ home run and ultimately sealed their fate. He finished with four runs on six hits and five walks over 5+ innings, struggling with tough counts and runners on base. Manager A.J. Hinch blamed early command struggles and facing elite hitters, while Valdez admitted frustration over walks that often score. Now 7-8 with a 4.26 ERA, the Tigers showed grit late — rookie Max Clark battled the Guardians’ closer for 38 pitches, draining bullpen resources despite no run. Losses sting, but resilience shone through. Listen in comfort:Get a discount on a Soli Pillow: http://solipillow.com/discount/dnn. Advertise on DNN:[email protected] This is an automated, high-level news summary based on public reporting.Report issues to [email protected]. View sources & latest updates:https://sources.thednn.ai/909cde246580a447