DETROIT -- The Tigers returned home to Comerica Park, seemingly bringing their offensive baggage from the West Coast. Then, Dillon Dingler sent another ball into flight.
With Dingler’s two-run home run, a mammoth Statcast-projected 433-foot drive, the Tigers gave Framber Valdez the offensive support he needed in his home debut. He tossed six scoreless innings with five strikeouts to lead Detroit to a 4-0 win over the Cardinals, capping a summer-like afternoon in Detroit with a performance that felt like the Tigers’ dominance from last summer.
The Tigers arrived in Detroit late Wednesday night, coming off a series sweep in Arizona in which, aside from a couple of big rallies, little seemed to go right on offense. Friday’s first few innings suggested a repeat, from Kevin McGonigle’s 403-foot flyout to the depths of left-center field to Kerry Carpenter’s single off the right-field fence. Javier Báez’s third-inning single and stolen base seemingly had him poised to score Detroit’s first run since Tuesday on Gleyber Torres’ two-out single, but Cardinals right fielder Jordan Walker unleashed a throw home at 100.6 mph according to Statcast, reaching catcher Iván Herrera on the fly to tag Báez as he was starting his slide.
The highlight throw extended the Tigers’ scoreless streak to 18 innings since their five-run third inning on Tuesday in Arizona. Dingler ended it there, crushing a sweeper from Cards starter Michael McGreevy into the stands in left-center. It was the longest home run of Dingler’s MLB career, easily topping his 410-foot drive at Dodger Stadium last season, and it scored Riley Greene following his one-out double a couple of pitches earlier.
Dingler has both of Detroit’s home runs so far this season. This one became a turning point after Valdez stranded runners at the corners in the third inning and the bases loaded in the fourth. Valdez appeared to have injured a finger on his throwing hand trying to catch a Spencer Torkelson throw to first, but he stayed in the game to escape the jam and roll through two more scoreless innings.
Greene chipped in an add-on run with a fifth-inning RBI single off lefty reliever Justin Bruihl. Once Parker Meadows was hit by a pitch, stole second base and scored on a Báez single in the sixth, the Tigers had a comfortable lead for Valdez to carry through.
Valdez (2-0) has allowed one earned run over 12 innings through two starts, exactly the kind of deep, quality outings the Tigers sought when they signed him as a free agent to a three-year, $115 million contract two months ago.