CHICAGO – The Chicago Cubs walloped the Detroit Tigers, 11-2, at Wrigley Field on Tuesday, July 21.
Framber Valdez got the start for the Tigers (47-54) but he couldn’t make it out of the first inning. He was yanked after giving up six runs in 2/3 inning.
Then, the only real drama was how bad that awful start would impact the already drained Tigers bullpen. But the Tigers were saved, in that sense, when Zach McKinstry pitched the seventh and catcher Jake Rogers pitched the eighth.
Dillon Dingler drove in the only runs of the night for the Tigers, blasting one 392 feet to left-center field in the ninth inning when it was much too late.
Despite this ugly night for the Tigers, they will attempt to win their fourth-straight road series against the Cubs (57-44) in the finale of this three-game series on Wednesday night (ESPN).
At the plate
What a difference a wind can make.
On Monday night, the wind was blowing out at Wrigley Field and every ball hit into the air felt like it had the potential to be a home run. The Tigers won, 8-6, in 10 innings in a dramatic, intense, showdown that felt like a playoff game.
On Tuesday night, the wind was flipped. It was blowing in and knocking everything down, making every fly ball an adventure. And the vibe was, well, blah.
The Tigers hit several balls that looked like they would have been homers on Monday, but they were knocked down and turned into harmless outs on Tuesday.
The wind also played tricks on the Tigers’ defense.
In the fourth inning, Ian Happ hit a line drive to center. Matt Vierling started in, turned and bolted back toward the fence, then stopped and ran in for the catch.
Disastrous start for Framber Valdez
The Tigers entered this game in a precarious situation.
Their bullpen was drained, starting pitcher Jack Flaherty was placed on the 15-day IL and Keider Montero was not available because he’s moving to the starting rotation.
To be blunt, the Tigers needed Valdez to have great start. A long one. Deep into the game. Valdez hadn’t pitched since July 9 because he had been on the bereavement list after losing his grandmother.
But Valdez was awful and couldn’t make it out of the first inning, giving up six runs off five hits and two walks.
Valdez threw 42 pitches, just 24 of them strikes. And he was yanked after recording just two outs.
What happened in that inning was a complete disaster for a team trying to climb into playoff contention. Pete Crow-Armstrong started it off with a triple to deep right field. Valdez walked Seiya Suzuki and plunked Alex Bregman. Then, Carson Kelly, the former Tiger, found a hole in the infield and singled to shallow right field, driving in two runs.
Then, it went from bad to ugly. Ian Happ hit a fly ball that seemed to run into a wall of wind and was knocked backward, landing in shallow right in front of Ben Malgeri, as Kelly scored.
So, it was 4-0 before Valdez could get an out.
When Valdez walked Crow-Armstrong – his 10th batter of the inning – he was pulled.
Ty Madden, who was called up before the game to replace Flaherty, was put into the game, facing Suzuki with the bases loaded. He walked Suzuki, bringing in another run, as the Cubs held a 5-0 lead.
Obviously, the Tigers needed Madden to give them some length.
But he lasted 3 1/3 innings, giving up one run off one hit, walking four while striking out five. But his pitch count climbed, throwing 75 pitches, 41 of them strikes.
Brenan Hanifee came in and promptly gave up a homer to Michael Conforto, which turned into 9-0 ugliness. He gave up two runs in a pair of innings.
Up next
Keider Montero, who has been brilliant lately in the bullpen, will get the start for the Tigers in the series finale on Wednesday. Right-hander Colin Read (7-6, 4.74) will start for the Cubs. First pitch will be at 8:10 (ESPN).
Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com. Follow him on X @seideljeff.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tigers needed Framber Valdez and he let them down in 11-2 loss to Cubs
