DETROIT – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Detroit Tigers are missing three starting pitchers but still have one standout. He will be on the mound tonight against the visiting Boston Red Sox. Framber Valdez (2-1, 3.35 ERA) will start the middle contest of the three-game series for Detroit. The left-hander has given up two runs or fewer in six of his seven starts.
Valdez was sharp in his latest outing, at Atlanta on Thursday. He held the Braves to two runs and six hits in six innings. He didn’t issue a walk while striking out a season-high eight batters.
The Braves’ runs against him came in the second and third innings.
“He got better and better as the day went on,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “He had a little trouble getting into the game, just because he mis-executed pitches. But given how the game started and the way his pitch count was driving up, for him to go six innings and really look strong at the end was huge.”
Valdez and catcher Jake Rogers changed tactics, relying more on his breaking pitches.
“They were on time for his sinker early,” Rogers said. “Just mixing in his changeup and curveball to keep them off the heater, then sneaking the heater in every once in a while was a really big thing. He did a really good job of landing the changeup and he even threw some good sliders to their lefties, which is a good pitch against those guys.”
Valdez recorded his most recent victory against the Red Sox, limiting them to one run in six innings on April 19. He is 4-2 with a 2.83 ERA in seven career outings (five starts) against Boston.
Valdez steps into the role of de facto ace of the staff with Tarik Skubal on the injured list. The team announced on Monday that Skubal would undergo surgery to remove loose bodies from his pitching elbow.
Two other Tigers starters, Justin Verlander and Casey Mize, also are on the injured list.
Valdez will be opposed on Tuesday by the Boston combination of opener Jovani Moran (0-0, 2.33 ERA) and bulk reliever Brayan Bello (1-4, 9.12 ERA).
Moran most recently pitched Sunday, when he got two outs without allowing a run or a hit against the Houston Astros. He allowed one run in three innings over two relief appearances vs. the Tigers last month, leaving him with a 7.45 ERA and a 0-1 record in nine lifetime outings against Detroit.
Bello will be coming out of the bullpen for the first time this year. He has made it past the fifth inning in just one of his six starts this season, and he has allowed 43 hits and 15 walks in 25 2/3 innings.
In his latest outing, Bello began with two scoreless innings against the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday. He fell apart from that point and departed after 3 2/3 innings, having served up four runs and six hits.
“He looked great early,” interim manager Chad Tracy said. “(He) attacked the zone, (was) in the zone. A lot of weak contact. And then, in the third … started to nibble a bit when guys got on, and we got into a tight spot.”
Bello was frustrated when Tracy pulled him in the fourth.
“Obviously, I was upset,” Bello said through an interpreter. “I haven’t been able to pitch well in the past few starts. I haven’t been able to pitch deep into the games. That’s what I want (to do), and (Wednesday), it went that way, as well.”
Bello gave up four runs on five hits in four innings during a loss to Detroit on April 18. He is 0-2 with a 6.41 ERA in four career appearances (all starts) against the Tigers.
Boston won the series opener 5-4 on Monday behind Jarren Duran’s three-run homer in the seventh inning.
–Field Level Media