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During the Tigers’ 10-3 loss to the Red Sox on Tuesday night at Comerica Park, Detroit starter Framber Valdez was ejected after plunking Boston shortstop Trevor Story, which led to both benches emptying out to enter the fray.

With the Tigers down 8-2 in the top of the fourth inning, Valdez, in a span of three pitches, surrendered back-to-back solo home runs to Willson Contreras and Wilyer Abreu.

The lefty wasted no time with the next hitter, Story, coming up and in and drilling the infielder square in the numbers.

Home plate umpire Adam Beck almost immediately got in front of an incensed Story, but that didn’t stop the rest of the Red Sox bench from leaving the confines of the dugout, including Contreras, who was among the first of Boston contingent coming onto the field.

The Tigers then poured onto the field, but cooler heads appeared to prevail, as little happened along the first base line as the players converged.

Before long, Valdez got the heave-ho, the only player with an ejection over the incident.

Red Sox interim skipper Chad Tracy believed the hit by pitch was intentional. Valdez said it was not.

“Yes, I do think [it was intentional],” Tracy said, according to the Boston Herald. “I thought it was weak, and I thought everybody saw it. Their side, our side, I think everybody saw it. And yeah, it was weak.”

Framber Valdez hit Trevor Story after giving up back-to-back homers, causing the benches to clear.

Valdez was ejected.

(Via: @MLB) pic.twitter.com/jLDv40AN1A

— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) May 6, 2026

“It was not intentional. It was not on purpose. It might look like that, but it wasn’t,” Valdez said through an interpreter, according to multiple reports. “I consider [the ejection] completely unfair given that, first of all, they should have given me a warning. And of course if it was on purpose, then I do it a second time or a third time, of course, I’m getting ejected.”

However, Tigers manager A.J. Hinch admitted Tuesday’s night’s incident did not feel great.

“We play a really good brand of baseball here,” he said afterward, per the Detroit News. “That didn’t feel like it…I know when you go out and you are in those confrontations, you usually feel like you are in your right. It didn’t feel good being out there.”

Valdez, who joined Detroit on a three-year, $115 million contract this offseason, came into the evening with a solid 3.35 ERA but saw that number balloon to 4.57 after allowing seven earned runs — with three more unearned runs in the mix — over just three innings.

The southpaw arguably became Detroit’s de facto ace this week when it was revealed Monday that two-time reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal would need surgery on his throwing elbow to remove loose bodies.

Valdez’s first crack at headlining the rotation, however, was one to forget.

The Tigers find themselves in a precarious position early in the season. They’ve lost two starters as Casey Mize and now Tarik Skubal are out of commission, and they just dropped the first game of the series to one of the most struggling teams in the AL. They needed to start winning, if only to prove to themselves that they still had it in them, but more importantly to keep themselves atop of the division or close enough, for it to count when they start getting some pitching help back later in the month. In the second game of the series against the Red Sox, the Tigers were leaning on Framber Valdez, while the Red Sox went the Opener routine, starting lefty specialist Jovani Moran.

In the first, with two outs, Wilyer Abreu singled. Abreu then stole second. Trevor Story reached thanks to a fielding error by the freshly returned Zach McKinstry, pushing Abreu to third. Then Story stole second as well. A Ceddanne Rafaela homer was the worst-case scenario, and was precisely what happened, pushing the Sox to an early 3-0 lead. Valdez managed to get the final out of the inning, but it was quite the deficit to start the game with. Heading into the home half, Matt Vierling took one back, hitting a leadoff home run.

With one out, Jahmai Jones hit a single on the first pitch he saw. Why wait? After a second out, Riley Greene worked his way to a walk. A Wenceel Perez single then got Jones home. Spencer Torkelson was walked as well, but the Tigers ended up having to settle for just the two runs. But at least it was now only a one-run game, and the team had really tested the upper limits of what an Opener could do.

With one out in the top of the second, Connor Wong got a free bag for getting hit in the shoelaces with an 0-2 breaking ball. After the second out, it turned out to be Dillon Dingler saving the inning as he made an ABS challenge call on a called ball for it to be overturned as strike three, ending the inning. Brayan Bello came in for the Red Sox in the bottom of the inning and got the Tigers out in order.

Willson Contreras took a leadoff walk, then with one out, Story came through again, with a single that bumped Contreras to third. Rafaela then singled to bring Contreras home. An Andruw Monasterio single scored Story. The Sox weren’t done yet, though. Caleb Durbin singled, scoring Rafaela. Connor Wong singled, scored Monasterio. The Tigers challenged the safe call of Durbin sliding into third, but there wasn’t a definitive angle to overturn the call and it was upheld. Nothing was particularly hard hit, but everything was finding the grass. Thoughts of Rick Porcello vs. the Angels came to mind (IYKYK). Isiah Kiner-Falefa grounded into a force out for the second out of the inning, but it also allowed Durbin to score. Jarren Duran was the final out of the inning, but it was safe to say the damage was done. The Red Sox now led 8-2. In the home half, the Tigers managed a two-out single from Riley Greene, but they left him stranded.

Things continued to decline in the fourth. Contreras started things out with a homer to left on a first pitch sinker. Then right on his heels was an Abreu homer to right. Following those, Valdez hit Trevor Story directly in the back with a sinker. Now… Framber Valdez has obviously not been pitching well all game. It could have been an accident, but under the circumstances Trevor Story sure didn’t think so, and the benches cleared. As the dust started to settle with no warnings issued, Valdez was suddenly tossed from the game.

Brenan Hanifee came in from the pen to replace Valdez. Rafaela then hit into a double play, and then got the final out of the inning. In the home half, the Tigers went 1-2-3.

Caleb Durbin singled to start the fifth, but three outs followed, letting Hanifee and the Tigers breathe a little sigh of relief. Matt Vierling continued to be The Man in this game, starting the home half with a single, but he was then eliminated in a force out off the bat of Kevin McGonigle. Kerry Carpenter then singled. Dillon Dingler singled right on his heels, bringing McGongile home. They’d only get the one run, but one is better than none.

In the sixth, Wilyer Abreu got a one-out walk. He was then eliminated in a force-out off the bat of Trevor Story. Rafaela then singled right into center. A Monasterio groundout ended the inning, though, with no harm done. In the home half, the Tigers once again went three-up, three-down.

Burch Smith came out of the Tigers’ pen in the seventh and he got the Red Sox out in order. In the home half, Kevin McGonigle got a one-out walk and then stole second base, but Kerry Carpenter hit into a double play to end the inning.

In the eighth, Abreu continued to be a pest with a two-out single, but the Red Sox weren’t able to do anything with the base runner. The Tigers made no real effort to get any runs back in the bottom of the inning as they went 1-2-3 and the game headed to the ninth.

Enmanuel De Jesus was the Tigers’ choice for the ninth and he was the man for the job, getting the Red Sox out in order. The Tigers headed into the home half with a big gap to overcome. The Red Sox finally dipped back into their bullpen, turning things over to Alec Gamboa who was making his major league debut. And he got his first 1-2-3 inning, as the Tigers fell and fell hard against the Sox. Better luck tomorrow.

Final: Red Sox 10, Tigers 3

Brandon Nimmo believes only a certain player can thrive in New York. Others, he believes, just don’t work out.

The Rangers outfielder and ex-Met — in town to face the Yankees on Tuesday night in The Bronx to start a three-game series — fielded questions in the third-base dugout about his Queens exit and discussed some of the intangibles he believes make a good ballplayer in New York City.

“[Agent Scott] Boras and I talked about it, and we talked about it with [Mets owner] Steve [Cohen], and we talked about it with [Mets president of baseball operations] David [Stearns],” Nimmo told reporters. “There is this factor that I’m not sure you can measure it until somebody gets in New York, but there is a factor of people who seem to be comfortable here and succeed here. And some guys it doesn’t translate as well. I think it’s like one of those things, like chemistry, that’s harder to measure but it’s 100 percent a real thing.”

Nimmo didn’t specify anyone during his days in Queens or on the current iteration of the Mets that fits the latter, struggling player descriptor, but the Amazin’s have been one of the worst teams in baseball this season with a 13-22 record, in large part due to new pieces that have struggled out of the gate.

Marcus Semien, who came from Texas in the trade that sent Nimmo to the Rangers, has hit .208 with a 52 OPS+, which is 48 points under league average. Fellow newcomer Bo Bichette has also struggled at this dish with a .236/.273/.313 slash line.

Nimmo played his first 10 big league seasons in New York and said he now has a different perspective. He said things are “easier” and more “laid back” in Texas. He also reiterated, as he told The Post’s Joel Sherman in February, that he believes the trade was made for baseball reasons and not anything to do about any rumored Mets chemistry issues.

“There is a certain type of player and type of person that it takes in order to be in New York and I understand that better now,” Nimmo said.

Nimmo has been a revelation for Texas with a .300 average and an .836 OPS. He told The Post’s Greg Joyce last week he believes that the reeling Mets — who have now won two games in a row — can right the ship.

On Tuesday, he said he hopes his old club can have better fortunes the rest of the way, but his ultimate priorities are elsewhere now.

“I want them to do well,” Nimmo added. “I’ve played here before when things aren’t going well, and it’s not fun. I wish the best for them, but also I’m trying to take care of things here and make sure we’re trying to play good baseball here.”

The San Francisco Giants play game two of this three-game home series against the San Diego Padres tonight from Oracle Park, and they’re looking to take the series win after a 3-2 victory on Monday.

Taking the mound for the Giants is their ace, righty Logan Webb, who is making his eighth start of the season. The 29-year old is off to an uncharacteristically slow start, as he’s 2-3 with a 4.30 ERA, a 3.46 FIP, and 38 strikeouts to 15 walks in 44 innings. He was awesome in his last game, though, holding the Philadelphia Phillies to just one run in seven innings.

For the Padres, it’s old foe Walker Buehler, who is back in the NL West. The 31-year old right-hander, who was an All-Star with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2019 and 2021, is 1-2 in six starts this year, with a 5.40 ERA, a 3.42 FIP, and 24 strikeouts against 12 walks in 25 innings of work. In his last start, Buehler allowed two runs in 4.2 innings against the Chicago Cubs.

Enjoy the game, everyone. Go Giants!

Lineups

Giants

1. Jung Hoo Lee — RF
2. Casey Schmitt — 2B
3. Rafael Devers — 1B
4. Heliot Ramos — LF
5. Bryce Eldridge — DH
6. Matt Chapman — 3B
7. Willy Adames — SS
8. Drew Gilbert — CF
9. Jesús Rodríguez — C

RHP. Logan Webb

Padres

1. Jackson Merrill — CF
2. Manny Machado — 3B
3. Miguel Andujar — DH
4. Gavin Sheets — 1B
5. Fernando Tatis Jr. — RF
6. Xander Bogaerts — SS
7. Nick Castellanos — LF
8. Luis Campusano — C
9. Sung-Mun Song — 2B

RHP. Walker Buehler

Game #35

Who: San Francisco Giants (20-14) vs. San Diego Padres (14-21)

Where: Oracle Park, San Francisco, California

When: 6:45 p.m. PT

Regional broadcast: NBC Sports Bay Area

National broadcast: n/a

Radio: KNBR 680 AM/104.5 FM, KSFN 1510 AM

Don’t lose the series, Braves! Also, Michael Harris II in left field!

After a rough road-trip, the D-backs return to Chase Field to take on the Pirates. They’re in fourth-place in the NL Central, while Arizona sits third in the NL West. So we’re better than them, right? RIGHT? Of course, it’s not quite that simple. The Central currently has every team two games or more above .500, and possesses five of the best eight records in the National League. The third-place Diamondbacks would be clear last with that record in the Central – as would the Marlins, currently second in the NL East. And don’t even get me started on the AL Central, where the division leading Tigers and Guardians are only at .500.

The harsh reality is, the D-backs haven’t won a series so far against a team currently in possession of a winning record. Their record there is just 4-11: the Diamondbacks split series against the Braves and Padres, lost to the Brewers, and were swept by the Dodgers and Cubs. The closest was the sweep of the Tigers who, as mentioned above, are 18-18. It’s interesting that, after the first month, what was supposed to be a brutal schedule has ended up being perfectly balanced. They have played 15 games against winning teams, 15 games against losing teams (9-6 there for Arizona) and three against the .500 Tigers.

Tonight, start for the D-backs is Eduardo Rodriguez, the only member of the Arizona rotation with an ERA+ better than a hundred. On the other hand, the only current member of the Arizona bullpen with an ERA+ below a hundred is.. former starter, Brandon Pfaadt. Of course, there are few former relievers who haven’t covered themselves in glory. Every ex-member of the bullpen has an ERA of 7.71 or greater, along with James McCann. Hopefully E-Rod can deliver a W on Cinco de Mayo. Over the last thirteen games, D-backs’ starters have a 1-7 record, Eduardo getting the only win, on April 22 against the White Sox

Cal Raleigh is back.

Raleigh returns to the Mariners lineup at designated hitter on Tuesday. He’s missed the last three games with “general soreness” in his core, or side, or something. The team hasn’t been too forthcoming with specifics on the injury, and it doesn’t really matter now, because Raleigh is back. He is still limited to DH, at least for now, meaning the Mariners have to start Mitch Garver behind the plate against a righty, while Dominic Canzone rides the bench. But having Raleigh back at all is an encouraging sign, and hopefully he’ll be back behind the plate again soon.

On the mound for the Mariners tonight is George Kirby, who’s had an odd start to the 2026 season. He’s walking more batters than ever, striking out fewer batters than ever, but also 56.5% ground ball rate — the fifth best in baseball. His 2.84 xERA is top 10 in baseball, so it seems to be working for him. But I’m interested to see how that approach matches up with one of the most potent lineups in baseball.

Bryce Elder gets the start for the Braves. For more on Elder, Jake Mailhot has you covered in our series preview.

For further pregame reading, Eric Sanford responds to your takes on the most impressive early season performances.

Lineups:

Tonight’s game information:

Game time: 6:40 PT

TV: Mariners TV, with Aaron Goldsmith and Dave Valle, with Angie Mentink as the field analyst

Radio: Seattle Sports 710 AM, with Rick Rizzs and Aaron Goldsmith

The Athletics have been one of the biggest surprises of this young MLB season.

The A's, a young team themselves, were assumed to be a decent to good team, possibly flirting with the wild card. Nobody saw a division-leading team in the fold.

It's still early so there's nothing to get overly excited about. But give credit where credit is due. The A's might not be in Oakland anymore, but they have ballers with them.

Shea Langeliers, 28, one of the team's many young bright stars, was placed on the paternity list, the team announced Monday, May 4. Langeliers is tied for eighth in home runs with 10, currently more than Shohei Ohtani (6), Cal Raleigh (7), Bryce Harper (8) and Pete Alonso (6).

Last year's AL Rookie of the Year Nick Kurtz has hit five home runs. Carlos Cortes and Tyler Soderstrom are tied with four, while Brent Rooker and Lawrence Butler have three apiece. Max Muncy and Jacob Wilson have two homers each.

As a team, the A's entered play on Tuesday, May 5 ranking within the top 15 of nearly every offensive category including batting average, hits, runs and walks.

There were early questions about their pitching, which would be the tale of the A's season, and early on its been sufficient as is the A's record out there in West Sacramento. ESPN gave the A's a "B" through the first month of baseball.

After a convincing shutout win behind Davis Martin to open up the series in Los Angeles, the White Sox have a chance to bring their record to .500 with another W tonight. The overall vibe with this team, who is playing like they have nothing to lose and everything to gain, has been contagious across the organization and fan base. It’s been a while since the South Siders have reminded us how much fun the game of baseball can be, and the energy that has been injected into the dugout is a perfect encapsulation of that.

Making his fifth start of the season (seventh appearance), Erick Fedde will make his second consecutive start against the Angels following a strong seven-inning performance last week. There is something about the South Side of Chicago that brings out a different side of Fedde, because he’s been excellent this year and has outperformed expectations to be just an “innings eater” for the second time now with the Sox. In 33 1/3 frames, the righty has posted a 3.24 ERA alongside an efficient 1.050 WHIP. FanGraphs also has him at a 3.32 xERA, suggesting he’s not simply benefiting from “good luck,” and that his elevated 4.94 FIP may be misleading, as Fedde has managed contact better than expected. In 2025, his hard-hit percentage against opponents was in the 31st percentile (AKA blue on Statcast), and he has improved that by 100% thus far in 2026, into the 62nd percentile and further into the red. Does he have Cy Young-type stuff? No. Is he helpful while we develop these younger arms in the minors? Yes, yes, he is.

While Fedde won’t have the benefit of Munetaka Murakami on offense today, as he takes a rest day, he’ll depend on the youth core to score some runs. Chase Meidroth has shifted back into the leadoff spot with Miguel Vargas and Colson Montgomery following him up as the power punch in Tuesday’s lineup. Joining the starting nine for the first time since being signed to a one-year deal on Monday to help fill in some of the outfield holes, Randall Grichuk is making his debut start with the White Sox, playing right field and batting fourth. Grichuk is deeper into his career, but is an experienced outfielder with above-average power potential. He hasn’t put up the best numbers this year (.194/.212/.323 in 33 plate appearances with the Yankees), but has a career .761 OPS and has so far had a successful 12-year career in MLB.

Chicago White Sox Lineup:

Likely wishing not to be terrorized on the mound as his teammate José Soriano was, lefthander Sam Aldegheri is making his first start of the season for the Angels. He’s bounced up and down from the minors this year, and so far, he’s tossed just 1 2/3 innings this season. Aldegheri allowed two hits, including a home run, and struck out two and walked one in his first game. In 28⅓ career innings, he’s posted a 6.35 ERA and an unsightly 2.047 WHIP. Aldegheri’s career 14.2% walk rate certainly hasn’t helped his case, which makes this an even more unfortunate day for Murakami to be taking a day off, but as a team, the South Siders hold a 10.3 BB%, so maybe they’ll still be able to take advantage.

The Los Angeles offense was quiet last night, but there are still a few batters that pose a threat, including Mike Trout, Jorge Soler, and Vaughn Grissom. Both Trout and Grissom have previously homered off Fedde and have the highest OPS on the team.

Los Angeles Angels Lineup:

Tonight’s game is another late one, with first pitch taking place at 8:38 p.m. CT, which is very specific. Tune in to CHSN tonight or listen to the radio broadcast on ESPN Chicago AM 1000. If nothing else, perhaps a Mune pinch-hit bomb? The journey to .500 is back on.

José Caballero cares about many parts of his game.

Lighting up the underlying metrics is not exactly one of them.

Caballero’s all-around strong performance in recent weeks was enough to change the organization’s plans and unseat Anthony Volpe (once he was healthy) for the starting shortstop job, at least for now.

And yet, that offensive surge has not lined up with the under-the-hood metrics the Yankees often look at — average exit velocity, hard-hit rate, chase rate and expected numbers — when trying to predict results over the course of a long season.

“I’m trying to win a battle, man,” Caballero said Tuesday at Yankee Stadium. “It doesn’t matter how I win it, I want to win the battle. Every at-bat for me is a battle. … I’m just trying to be on base, make some damage and help my team.”

Caballero has certainly fulfilled that goal.

Entering Tuesday’s series opener against the Rangers, he was batting .316 with an .896 OPS, four home runs and eight steals over his past 22 games — after starting the year batting .150 with a .384 OPS, no homers and five steals over his first 12 games.

While Caballero’s defensive and baserunning metrics are strong, his underlying offensive numbers — which the Yankees often use to paint a picture that a struggling hitter has been better than his surface numbers would suggest — are not as rosy.

His average exit velocity of 83.7 mph was in the third percentile among major leaguers; his 29.3 percent hard-hit rate was in the 11th percentile; his 33.2 percent chase rate was in the 28th percentile; his xwOBA (expected weighted on-base average) of .266 was in the seventh percentile.

All of it suggests there could be some regression to come. But is it possible to outperform that?

“Maybe,” manager Aaron Boone said. “Look, I think he’s a player. He’s a gamer. You like him up there when the chips are on the table. He’s a hustler, in a good way. He likes the action. He likes, ‘Give me the ball.’

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST MLB STANDINGS AND YANKEES STATS

“Honestly, he’s one of the most confident guys on the field, and that’s a powerful thing to have. In this game of failure, you better have some confidence walking out there every day. He walks out there with a lot of confidence.”

That, of course, is part of Caballero’s game. He takes pride in being a pest at the plate and on the bases, the kind of player you love to have on your team but hate to play against.

For the first few weeks of the season, as he got the chance to start every day at shortstop with Volpe’s return looming, Caballero felt like he was missing that edge.

Then right around the series against his former team, the Rays, at Tropicana Field from April 10-12 — during which GM Brian Cashman revealed that it had “always been the plan” for Volpe to regain his starting job once he was healthy — Caballero rediscovered that edge. He insists that it was not because he was facing the Rays, or because he had been trying to do too much to prove anything to the Yankees.

“Whenever you get caught up in the everyday at-bats and missing a lot of them, you get caught in your head and thinking about the struggle you are in,” he said.

“I reached 40 at-bats [during that Rays series]. So it’s kind of like an even number. So after that day, I went, ‘You know what? Whatever happened before these 40 at-bats, I don’t really care.’ I’m just going to move forward and think about from now on. That was kind of the mentality.

“I just feel more free, more clear, more calm. It’s really helpful.”

And it helped him retain his starting job, at least for the time being.

Caballero said the team did not have a conversation with him Sunday about keeping the job and Volpe going to Triple-A, but that he just kept his head down and kept playing.

“I’m just really happy to have the opportunity to go out there and play baseball,” said Caballero, who for the first time in his big league career is staying at one position for an extended, everyday stretch, which he said has helped his defense.

“I’m trying to be present, trying to be in the moment and take advantage of the opportunity.”

San Diego Padres (20-14) at San Francisco Giants (14-21), May 5, 2026, 6:45 p.m. PST

Watch: Padres.TV

Location: Oracle Park – San Francisco, Calif.

Listen: 97.3 The Fan at

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