Why Was Framber Valdez Ejected Against The Red Sox?

The Tigers trailed by six runs at the start of the fourth inning, with Valdez giving up three runs in the first and another five in the third. Willson Contreras and Wilyer Abreu then smashed back-to-back home runs to extend the Red Sox’s lead. The veteran lefty apparently vented his frustration by drilling Trevor Story in the back with a 94.4 mph fastball on his very next pitch.

The Red Sox dugout naturally poured out onto the field to confront the retaliation from Framber Valdez, while the Tigers’ bench also cleared out. But tempers did not flare, and the officials did an excellent job of preventing the situation from escalating. Nevertheless, third base umpire as well as crew chief Dan Iassogna ejected the pitcher from the game.

Framber Valdez Denies Intent To Hit Trevor Story

The Detroit Tigers lost 10-2 to the Boston Red Sox on the night. Framber picked up one of the worst losses of his career, with his ejection adding insult to injury. The two-time All-Star later stated that he did not intend to hit Trevor Story with the pitch.

“It was not intentional,” Valdez said through an interpreter, as per The Athletic. “It was not on purpose-–it might look like that, but it wasn’t.”

Framber Valdez was the subject of a similar controversial incident during his final month with the Houston Astros last September. On that occasion, he crossed up Astros catcher Cesar Salazar after allowing a home run, with widespread speculation that he threw the pitch with the intent to hit the catcher.