Eduardo Valencia hitting cleanup on Tuesday

Valencia put the Tigers on the board with a single in the first inning to drive in a run. He then led off the fourth inning with a solo homer off Anthony Kay. The home run was his sixth of the season while hitting .404/.426/.865 across just 54 plate appearances, though he’s been mostly limited to a short-side platoon.

Valencia is hitting .381/.381/.952 versus left-handers and .391/.440/.739 against right-handers this year. We dunno what he has to do to get more work — we understand the Tigers can’t exactly bench Dillon Dingler, but there is a DH spot. This was Valencia’s first action since August 9 and he’s appeared in just seven games this month despite the hot bat.

Dingler only had one hit in this contest, but it was a big one. With the Tigers leading 2-0 in the seventh inning, Dingler lined an RBI double to left field that scored Kevin McGonigle. Dingler then came in to score on Eduardo Valencia’s pinch hit two-run double. He’s the fifth player this season to reach 80 RBI and the first catcher. Dingler is hitting .275 with an .870 OPS.

Dingler got the Tigers on the board in the top half of the first inning, clobbering a 2-1 cutter from Bryce Miller for a 401-foot (101.3-mph EV) two-run blast that gave the Tigers a lead they would never relinquish. He also added an RBI single in the third inning and another knock in the seventh. The 27-year-old backstop homered in all three games against the Mariners in Seattle. Dingler is quietly having an MVP-caliber season for the Tigers, slashing .278/.341/.536 with the aforementioned 26 long balls and 78 RBI while playing Gold Glove defense behind the plate.

He’s the first Tigers catcher to hit 25 homers since Mickey Tettleton did it three straight years from 1991-93. Dingler’s homer came after Gleyber Torres was intentionally plunked by Gabe Speier and gave the Tigers their only runs in a 4-2 loss. Dingler has three homers in his last five games and is batting .333/.407/.625 with six homers in the 18 games since the All-Star break.

Valencia was right in the middle of the action as the Tigers plated four runs in the fourth inning and four runs in the eighth. The 26-year-old has done nothing but hit when called upon this season, as he now owns a ridiculous .452/.469/.935 batting line through 32 plate appearances. He deserves more opportunities down the stretch for Detroit.

Dingler broke the game open in the eighth inning, capping off a seven-run rally with a 411-foot (100.2-mph EV) grand slam off of Luis Morales. He also singled in the third inning. With his two-hit attack, the All-Star backstop is now slashing .269/.333/.520 with 23 homers and 72 RBI.

Oh, so that’s why Detroit DFA’d Jake Rogers. The Tigers started both of their catchers tonight, with Dillon Dingler serving as a DH, and Valencia, who was recalled Monday, hit his third and fourth homers in just seven games (four starts) as a major leaguer. True, the second one tonight was hit off Chadwick Tromp, but this still an awfully impressive start. He’s the first player to have four hits and two homers in one of his first seven career games since Jose Siri in 2021 and second since Danny Espinosa in 2010.

The Tigers needed a spot on the active roster to activate Javier Baez from the 60-day IL, so Rogers was let go. The Tigers will go forward with Eduardo Valencia as their backup catcher.

Valencia comes back up to join Detroit’s bench for Monday’s series opener against the Orioles with Kerry Carpenter hitting the shelf with plantar fasciitis. The 26-year-old rookie hit .417 (5-for-12) with two homers and three RBI during six games with the Tigers earlier this month.