Tigers Framber Valdez Drops Honest Quote After Dominating Yankees
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When the Detroit Tigers signed former Houston Astros left-hander Framber Valdez in free agency, they were hoping to create a dynamic 1-2 punch at the top of their rotation with Tarik Skubal. As is the case sometimes with baseball, things don't always go as planned.
Skubal has missed some time this season with an injury and the Tigers have been one of MLB's biggest disappointments. The Boston Red Sox and New York Mets might be considered bigger disappointments, but Detroit has certainly struggled.
There is still time to turn things around and make a run for a postseason berth, but it needs to be sooner rather than later. After a dismal month of May, June has been much better for the Tigers and that continued on Monday night in a 5-3 victory at home over the New York Yankees.
Valdez was sharp against the American League East Division leaders and if June is any indication of how the rest of the season might go, Valdez looking like the pitcher Detroit thought they were getting might be bad news for the rest of the American League.
Framber Valdez Dominated the Yankees Continues Hot June
The first two months didn't go anywhere near the way that the Tigers and Valdez had hoped they would. However, with baseball being a 162-game season, there was still time to turn things around and Valdez is certainly doing that. In six innings against the Yankees, he allowed four hits and one run, while striking out eight. In June, he has a 2.45 ERA in four starts with 21 strikeouts.
“I feel a big responsibility,” Valdez said, according to Jason Beck of MLB.com. “First of all, they paid what I considered I was worth. And they've given me support, they've given me trust. So what I can do is pull for this team and do my best when I'm on the field, and support and cheer for my guys when I'm off the field.''
Entering Tuesday night's game against New York, Detroit is 6.5 games behind the Cleveland Guardians and Chicago White Sox in the AL Central. They are five games back of the final AL wild-card spot. The trade deadline is August 3 and there are going to be some key decisions for Scott Harris and the front office, but the Tigers are beginning to turn things around.
Manager AJ Hinch will send Casey Mize and Skubal to the mound to close out the series the next two nights before the Astros visit for four games. Things may have looked bleak not too long ago, but they are certainly heading in the right direction, with Valdez having a month of June so far that both he and the team need. This could be bad news for the rest of the American League, which isn't as deep as the National League.
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Scott Roche has covered both college and professional sports for nearly three decades for various outlets. Scott has covered the MLB, NHL, and college sports and he is someone always looking for a good rumor, no matter which sport it is.