Framber Valdez couldn’t make it out of the fifth inning of Friday’s start against the Reds, giving up two runs on four hits over 4 1/3 innings of work.
The 32-year-old southpaw also issued five free passes on the evening while striking out four. He cruised through the first four innings unscathed and went in to the fifth with a comfortable 5-0 lead. After allowing a two-run homer to Matt McLain and a single to Elly De La Cruz though, Tigers’ manager A.J. Hinch had seen enough and went to his bullpen with Valdez two outs shy of qualifying for a victory. He got eight swings and misses on 89 pitches on the night, posting a solid CSW of 28 percent. He’ll carry a 3.41 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and a 24/14 K/BB ratio (34 1/3 innings) into a tough matchup against the Braves in Atlanta on Thursday.