Tigers sweep Athletics as Rogers, McKinstry, Valencia hit homers

Chris McCosky, The Detroit News on Jul 9, 2026

Published in Baseball

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DETROIT — This is what the Tigers expected. Heck, this is what Framber Valdez expected.

After back-to-back messy starts, Valdez was back on form Thursday night, pitching seven dominant innings to back the Tigers’ series-sweeping 4-1 win over the Athletics in front of 20,699 at Comerica Park.

It’s five straight wins now for the surging Tigers, eight in nine.

The offense was powered by three home runs. Jake Rogers, subbing for the banged-up Dillon Dingler, hit a solo homer in the third inning, his second in two nights. Rogers reached base six straight times in the last two games, two homers, one single and three walks.

Zach McKinstry broke a 1-1 tie with a two-run shot in the fifth, his fourth.

And in the seventh, rookie Eduardo Valencia, just called up from Triple-A Toledo, slugged a 425-foot, pinch-hit home run to center field in his first big league at-bat.

Special things seem to be happening on a nightly basis these days for the Tigers, who at 43-50, are creeping back into playoff contention.

Valdez’s performance certainly qualifies as a special thing. He allowed just three hits with a season-high nine strikeouts.

He impressively established his entire arsenal in the first inning, striking out the side in 13 pitches.

He punched out Joshua Kuroda-Grauer, who had three hits in each of the first two games, with a couple of nasty curveballs. Lefty Nick Kurtz, who will start at first base for the American League next week, was dispatched in four pitches, three sliders and a sinker.

Shea Langeliers, the American League’s starting catcher, got a peak at Valdez’s change-up and then, with two strikes, flailed at a rare four-seam fastball at the top of the zone.

Valdez set down the first 11 hitters before hitting Langeliers with a slider. He didn’t give up a hit until Jacob Wilson led off the fifth with a single. His worst pitch of the night might’ve been a curveball that slipped out of his hand and hit Lawrence Butler.

That set up the Athletics’ lone run. With runners at first and third in the fifth, Valdez got a pair of ground balls, the first, by Henry Bolte, scored the run.

Valdez, besides the nine strikeouts, also got nine ground-ball outs, which is his trademark. The 15 balls put in play against him had a soft average exit velocity of 83.2 mph. He got 18 misses on 48 swings, 11 on 20 swings with his curveball and slider.

He left to a rousing ovation, which he acknowledged with a tip of his cap.

Kyle Finnegan pitched a scoreless eighth and Kenley Jansen worked out of a first-and-third, one-out mess in the ninth to earn his 11th save.