LAKELAND, Fla. — Framber Valdez struck out three while throwing 30 of 43 pitches for strikes in the left-hander’s spring training debut for the Detroit Tigers on Monday against the Atlanta Braves.
Valdez faced 12 batters in three scoreless innings of a 5-2 loss, allowing two singles without any walks. The hits against him were a slow infield roller to third base and a grounder through the right side of the infield.
“I felt great,” Valdez told reporters through the team’s interpreter. “Obviously I had some first-game jitters, this being my first start as a Tiger. But overall, it felt really good.”
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Valdez, a two-time All-Star and 2022 World Series champion with Houston, signed a $115 million, three-year contract with the Tigers last month. Detroit’s rotation is led by two-time defending American League Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal and also includes three-time Cy Young winner Justin Verlander.
In his first eight big league seasons with the Astros, the 32-year-old Valdez was 81-52 with a 3.36 ERA. He was their starter on Opening Day the past four years, a span in which he averaged more than 191 innings and became one of baseball’s best ground ball pitchers.
After getting 59% of his outs on the ground last season, Valdez got four ground ball outs against the Braves, along with the hits and another grounder that resulted in a fielding error by first baseman Eduardo Valencia.
Valdez threw a pair of 95 mph sinkers in the second inning against Brett Wisely, getting a swing-and-miss on the first one before a called third strike later in the at-bat. Valdez got all three of his strikeouts in the second, and he finished his outing with three consecutive groundouts to the left side of the infield after Valencia’s error opened the third.
“Honestly, my plan today was just to throw strikes,” Valdez said through the interpreter. “I felt comfortable with the curveball early, and that’s the pitch we used to get strikes.
“… Everything we’ve been doing on the backfields has allowed me to progress to where we are right now. Now it’s just about getting ready for the season, mentally and physically.”
