Tigers' Framber Valdez aims to stay 'locked in' vs. Guardians

Veteran left-hander Framber Valdez signed a three-year contract with the Detroit Tigers to form an imposing 1-2 punch with Tarik Skubal at the top of the rotation.

Skubal now is with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Valdez struggled earlier in the season but has returned to his old form in his past two starts.

Valdez will start the middle contest of a three-game home series against the Cleveland Guardians on Wednesday night.

Valdez (7-7, 4.17 ERA) has lasted seven innings in both of his August starts after entering the month with a 4.53 ERA. He limited the Athletics to two runs on Aug. 1 and held Seattle scoreless in an 11-0 win on Thursday.

"He locked in as the game went on," Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said after Valdez's latest outing. "Early he was nibbling a little bit. They talked about it in the dugout between innings. Getting him to be a little more aggressive and trust his stuff was key. And the defense played really well behind him with a couple of double plays. And Framber just kept stacking outs."

When Valdez is at his best, he'll induce a lot of ground balls and record some strikeouts. The Mariners bounced into three double plays and struck out five times during Valdez's seven-inning stint.

"I understand that I need to throw the first pitch for a strike," Valdez, who went 13-11 with a 3.66 ERA for Houston last season, said through an interpreter. "When I can do that, it gives me the opportunity to hold the hitter as a prisoner to what I want to throw. That's what I did. I attack the zone, put the first pitch in the zone, and then I can have leverage to put him away."

Valdez has faced the Guardians once this season, giving up four runs on five hits and four walks in five innings in an 8-2 loss on May 18. In six career outings against Cleveland, he's 5-1 with a 2.97 ERA.

The Tigers can reach the .500 mark for the first time since May 4 with a victory. They captured the series opener 6-4 on Monday, are 8-2 in their past 10 games, and are in second place in the American League Central, just 2 1/2 games behind the Chicago White Sox.

Valdez on Wednesday will oppose another left-hander, Foster Griffin. Cleveland acquired Griffin (12-4, 3.31 ERA) from Washington just before the trade deadline.

Griffin lost his first start with the Guardians, allowing five runs and seven hits in four innings in a 13-6 decision to the New York Mets on Thursday.

He returned from a three-year stint in Japan and earned a spot on the National League All-Star roster by posting a 10-2 record and 2.77 ERA before the break.

Griffin makes up for a general lack of velocity with a seven-pitch mix.

"It's kind of a lost art in this sport," Cleveland catcher Austin Hedges told MLB.com. "This league's about stuff now and velocity, and he's shown the world that you can still pitch with different shapes and movement and execution."

Griffin added three pitches -- sinker, splitter and sweeper -- during his stint in Japan.

"Hitters in this league are really good at making adjustments on how you got them out," he said. "Having a deep mix like that definitely helps me understand the pitching aspect of knowing you need to get a guy out more than one way, especially as a starter."

Griffin has not made a start against Detroit in his career.

Tigers All-Star left fielder Riley Greene departed after the second inning on Tuesday due to right hamstring tightness. He is scheduled to have tests on Wednesday.

--Field Level Media