Framber Valdez made a quick exit from the mound Tuesday night at Comerica Park.
The Detroit Tigers starter drilled Trevor Story in the shoulder in the fourth inning of their 10-3 loss to the Boston Red Sox. That led to his ejection after the benches cleared.
The incident didn’t really lead to much. Story was held back and kept away from Valdez, and it ended up being a bunch of players standing around before the two sides were eventually separated. When it comes to benches-clearing incidents, this one was undoubtedly on the tame end as there was no brawl.
The plunking of Story happened immediately after Valdez gave up back-to-back home runs. Willson Contreras and Wilyer Abreu each hit solo shots to start the fourth inning, which pushed the Red Sox’s lead to 10-2. While Detroit got one back in the fifth, the lead was far too big for it to rally back.
Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy criticized Framber postgame, telling the Boston Globe’s Peter Abraham: “I thought it was weak. Everybody saw it — their side, our side. It was weak.”
Did Tigers manager A.J. Hinch see it the same way? Sounds like it. “We play a really good brand of baseball here. That didn't feel like it,” Hinch told the Detroit News’ Chris McCosky. “I'm not judging intent. But I know when you go out on the field in those confrontations, you usually feel like you are in your right. It didn't feel good being out there.”
Valdez’s pitch was classified as a four-seam fastball. Valdez has thrown only a single four-seamer all season. He said, according to The Athletic, that there was no ill-intent on the pitch. “It wasn’t intentional or anything. Anybody can have a pitch get away from them in that situation,” Valdez said through an interpreter.
Valdez called his ejection “completely unfair” and “they should have given me a warning.” He entered the night with a 2-1 record and a 3.35 ERA this season, his first with the Tigers after he signed a three-year, $115 million deal with Detroit this past offseason. The Tigers now sit at 18-19 on the season after Tuesday’s loss. They’ve now dropped two straight to the Red Sox. Boston, at 15-21, has now won three of its last five.