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Link:https://www.mlb.com/tigers/news/benches-clear-in-red-sox-tigers-game-after-hit-by-pitch




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#Tigers#RedSox#MLB2026Season#BenchesClear#FramberValdez#TrevorStoryHBP#BaseballConfrontation#ComericaPark#DetroitBaseball#BostonRedSoxNation#MLBAnalysis#ALShowdown#BullpenGames#BaseballTension#SportsDrama

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Transcript
00:00Welcome back Tigers fans. The Detroit Tigers went into Tuesday night's game against the Red Sox
00:05desperately needing a steady innings-eating performance from their new ace, Frambois Valdez,
00:10with Tarek Skubal headed for elbow surgery and the pitching staff worn down by back-to-back
00:15bullpen games. The stage was set for Valdez to carry the load. Instead, the night unraveled
00:20in disastrous fashion, culminating in a bench's clearing incident, an ejection, and the potential
00:25for a suspension that could leave the rotation in even deeper trouble. The Tigers needed innings
00:31and zeros. On Tuesday, they got neither, falling 10-3 at Comerica Park in a game that felt nothing
00:37like the brand of baseball this team prides itself on. And if Valdez ends up suspended for hitting
00:43Trevor Story and sparking that fourth-inning confrontation, Detroit could be scrambling
00:47to find innings from other arms this weekend in Kansas City. The ugly evening turned even worse
00:53in the fourth. After Boston already built a commanding lead, Wilson Contreras and Willier
00:59Abreu struck with back-to-back home runs on two of Valdez's first three pitches of the frame.
01:04Contreras launched a first-pitch changeup, 449 feet, to left field. Flipping his bat high into the air
01:12as the ball sailed out, the back-to-back shots extended Boston's advantage to 10-2. Despite the
01:18damage, manager A.J. Hinch had every intention of sticking with Valdez. The Tigers were coming off
01:24consecutive bullpen games in place of injured starters Casey Mize and Skubal. And although
01:29Brennan Hannafee had been warming during Boston's five-run third inning, he had since sat down.
01:34Those plans changed abruptly with one pitch. On his very first delivery after the homers,
01:39Valdez hit Trevor Story in the back with a 94 MPH fastball. Home plate umpire Adam Beck immediately
01:45stepped in front of Story as the shortstop began yelling toward the mound. Within seconds,
01:51the Red Sox bench emptied from the first base dugout, the Tigers followed from the third base
01:55side, and eventually both bullpens joined the scrum. I think we all know what's what, Story said.
02:01It's pretty indisputable. Valdez, speaking through translator and Tigers director of Spanish
02:07communications Carlos Guillen, insisted there was no intent. It was not intentional. It was not on
02:14purpose. It might look like that, but it wasn't, he said. I was trying to throw strikes after the
02:19two consecutive home runs. I was trying to go back in the zone, and that pitch came out of my
02:23hand.
02:24It wasn't on purpose at all. StatCast recorded the pitch as a four-seam fastball, a pitch the
02:30sinker-balling Valdez had not thrown all season, he explained. It was a four-seam fastball. I started
02:36using it since the bullpen before the game. I was trying to use the fastball as a backup plan,
02:42because of course I have to do something different against them. It might look like it was on
02:46purpose, but it wasn't. The Red Sox saw it very differently. Yes, I do think so, Red Sox manager
02:53Chad Tracy said, when asked if he thought the pitch was intentional, I thought it was weak,
02:57and I thought everybody saw it, their side, our side, I think everybody saw it, and, yeah,
03:03it was weak. Story pointed to Valdez's history. Earlier in his career with the Astros,
03:08Valdez ranked among the league leaders in hit-by-pitches, plunking 32 batters from 2021 to
03:132023. While he has hit fewer batters recently, he drilled Red Sox batter Sedan Rafaela in the back,
03:21with a 95 Mouters four-seamer last August at Fenway Park. You can kind of see, just from the
03:27past, things that have happened, Story said. I was in there ready to hit and it showed up way behind
03:33me
03:33and off the numbers, so I think we all know what's what. No punches were thrown, but plenty
03:41of heated words were exchanged. Hinch and Contreras had a verbal exchange along the first base line,
03:46while coaches restrained Contreras. Wilson was really frustrated, but I was just standing there
03:53making sure he calmed down, Hinch said. He was fine, their coaches were there, I was just telling
03:59them to calm down. Story added, those are my guys, and it means a lot to me. We're in this
04:05fight every
04:05day, and they're like brothers, and we spend a lot of time together, and it's always good to see them
04:10have your back like that. Once the field cleared, the umpires gathered and ejected Valdez, who had
04:16stayed at the back of the scrum, both benches were warned against any retaliation as Hanafi entered in
04:21relief. Hinch understood the decision on the spot. I understand their frustration, I understand the
04:26optics, I understand the whole thing. After the game, however, Valdez took issue with the ejection,
04:32I consider that completely unfair, he said through his translator. First of all, they should have given
04:38me a warning, if it was on purpose, and I do that a second time or a third time, of
04:43course, but getting
04:44ejected, I'm not making the decisions, the umpires are doing their jobs, they're doing their best, they've
04:50made the decision, and as you can see on the video, I was not even feisty, I was not even
04:54angry against
04:55them, neither the umpires nor their team, but again, I consider that a very unfair situation,
05:01they should have given me a warning, asked about the situation. Hinch said simply, it'll be handled
05:07internally. Valdez's final line was ugly, a career-high 10 runs, 7 earned, on 9 hits, including
05:153 home runs tying his career high, in just 3-plus innings, his ERA skyrocketed from 3, 35-457,
05:23a massive jump even this early in the season, if Major League Baseball determines that he
05:28intentionally hits Story, a suspension will follow, should that suspension put his next
05:32start in doubt, the Tigers would head to Kansas City for a three-game series against the division
05:37rival Royals, with Keiter Montero as their only traditional starter, Detroit would then need to
05:42piece together two more bullpen games or find spot starters to fill out the weekend, Valdez remains
05:48adamant. I know how the situation is for this team, but there shouldn't be a suspension in that
05:53situation. Hinch deferred to the league. I have no idea. That's for the league to dissect, I know
05:59everybody on the field did a good job of just de-escalating the situation and making sure it
06:04didn't go any further than it had to. So, Tigers faithful, where do you stand? Do you buy Valdez's
06:10explanation that the pitch simply got away from him, or do the circumstances in his history tell a
06:15different story? And if a suspension comes down, how on earth is this team going to piece together
06:20enough innings in Kansas City? Let us know your thoughts.
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