Overview
- Valdez hit Red Sox shortstop Trevor Story with a 94 mph fastball Tuesday in the fourth inning after back-to-back homers, prompting benches to clear and leading to his ejection.
- The pitch was a four-seam fastball that Valdez had not thrown in a game this season, and no punches were thrown during the on-field confrontation.
- Valdez called the ejection unfair and denied intent, while Story said the plunking was indisputable and Boston interim manager Chad Tracy labeled it weak.
- Tigers manager A.J. Hinch criticized the episode as a low moment and did not back his pitcher, and ESPN’s Buster Olney predicted a suspension of about seven games, which would likely be appealed.
- The incident adds pressure to Detroit’s thin rotation after Tarik Skubal’s elbow surgery, and commentators also noted Valdez’s past on-field controversies and a video alleging Red Sox baserunners were signaling his pitch grips.