Tigers Betting on Top Offseason Addition to Break Losing Streak
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The Detroit Tigers are in dangerous territory as they look to fend off a four-game losing streak for the second time in four series to open the 2026 campaign. Detroit sent Tarik Skubal to the mound with hopes that he would stop the bleeding, but the Minnesota Twins have taken the first two games of the series.
The season is still new, but it's four-game series like this that could come back to haunt the Tigers later in the season if they're in a tight race to make the playoffs. That being said, they have the best pitching option to send to the mound, not named Tarik Skubal: Framber Valdez.
Valdez Looks to Continue Hot Start with Tigers
Valdez has been the perfect signing for Detroit through his first two starts of the season. He kept the Tigers in the game against the San Diego Padres and dominated the St. Louis Cardinals in the home opener. Now he looks to stop the Twins' offense.
The Twins have gotten off to a hotter start than the Tigers, but if Valdez can force weak contact resulting in grounders and fly balls, Detroit will be in good hands. His fastball might not be elite, but his offspeed pitches have looked nearly untouchable.
Through two starts, Valdez has a 0.75 ERA in 12 innings pitched, with 10 strikeouts compared to three walks. He's allowed 10 hits on the season, but only one run has come around to score. He's also marked two quality starts to begin the campaign.
When looking at Valdez's Baseball Savant page, He's getting nearly 40% of the hitters he's faced so far to chase out of the zone, and yet still rarely walks anybody. There is some swing and miss in the Twins' lineup, something that Valdez must take full advantage of.
Regardless, Valdez can pitch as well as he can, but it won't mean anything unless the offense gets him some runs. The Tigers' offense has been very inconsistent to begin the season, regardless of a handful of players hitting for contact.
Once sluggers like Riley Greene, Spencer Torkelson, and Kerry Carpenter all start seeing the ball better collectively, this offense will be rolling on all cylinders. Detroit left 12 runners on base in Tuesday's loss and has left 20 on base across the two games, scoring five runs total.
Going into his third start, Valdez looks to hold the losing streak at two and perhaps start a new trend called 'winning more than two games in a row'.
Dominic Minchella is a 2024 Eastern Michigan University graduate with a BA in Communications, Media, and Theatre Arts and a Journalism minor. He covers Major League Baseball for On SI and spends his free time watching games and sharing his insights.