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Framber Valdez finishes sad season strong but Tigers bats silent again
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- Framber Valdez finishes sad season strong but Tigers bats silent again
The Detroit Tigers finished their series against the Washington Nationals with another poor offensive showing.
The Tigers (74-85) lost 4-2 to the Nationals (75-84) on Wednesday, Sept. 23, at Comerica Park in Detroit in the final game of the Tigers' penultimate series.
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Tigers starter Framber Valdez allowed two runs on four hits through 5⅓ innings pitched, retiring his first 11 batters (striking out six) before allowing his first baserunner in the fourth inning.
He exited the game after allowing a run in the sixth. Reliever Tyler Kinley replaced him and allowed a two-run home run to first baseman Yohandy Morales to give the Nationals a 3-0 lead.
Meanwhile, the Tigers got a solo home run from right fielder Ben Malgeri in the bottom of the sixth inning, but not much else. Tigers rookies got seven of Detroit's eight hits, with Kevin McGonigle (double, two singles), center fielder Max Clark (double), designated hitter Hao-Yu Lee (single) and Malgeri (home run, single) all hitting safely.
Malgeri came up again representing the tying run with two outs in the ninth inning and singled to bring home pinch hitter Jace Jung . But left fielder Riley Greene finished the game with a flyout, stranding the tying runs on base.
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On the mound: Framber Valdez pitches into sixth
Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Framber Valdez pitches in the first inning against the Washington Nationals, Sept. 23, 2026 at Comerica Park.
Valdez allowed his first hit in the fourth inning on a two-out single from third baseman Brady House . Before that, he set down 11 Nationals batters to start the game, with six strikeouts, four groundouts and a popout.
Though Valdez then allowed a walk to second baseman CJ Abrams , he escaped the inning unscathed with his fourth scoreless frame. Valdez walked two more in the fifth to bring up Nationals slugger James Wood with two outs, but Valdez struck out Wood for the third time in three at bats to maintain his scoreless outing.
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Valdez's final batter of the day led to his first run allowed, with Abrams driving in designated hitter Andrés Chaparro from second base with an RBI single in the sixth inning to give the Nationals a 1-0 lead (with Abrams thrown out when he was caught between first and second base on the play). Valdez's second run allowed came on the two-out home run from Morales off Kinley, with Valdez responsible for House on second base.
The Nationals added a fourth run in the seventh courtesy of shortstop Nasim Nuñez, who reached via a bloop single, stole second base, stole third and dashed home on a Wood groundout to first base.
At the plate: Many hits, few runs
Detroit Tigers shortstop Kevin McGonigle (7) hits a double in the third inning against the Washington Nationals Sep 23, 2026 at Comerica Park.
The Tigers got a runner on base with less than two outs in each of their first four innings but didn't score, even failing to bring home McGonigle after the rookie smashed a one-out double in the third inning.
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McGonigle leads all MLB rookies in hits (165), walks (94) and FanGraphs WAR (5.2) and is the favorite to win the American League Rookie of the Year Award. But through the first four innings, he was the only Tiger to reach third base safely.
McGonigle came through again with a two-out single in the fifth inning that sent second baseman Zach McKinstry to third base, but Lee struck out swinging to end the inning with the game still scoreless.
Malgeri's solo home run to lead off the bottom of the sixth inning cut Washington's lead to 3-1. It marked the rookie's fifth home run of the season and was his second in three games.
But the Tigers veterans failed to provide much value at the plate, with Greene and catcher Dillon Dingler each going hitless and first baseman Spencer Torkelson striking out four times, once while representing the tying run with two outs in the eighth inning.
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Next up: Final series
The Tigers have a day off on Thursday before starting their season-ending, three-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday, Sept. 25. Tigers righty Jackson Jobe is scheduled to pitch against a Pirates starter yet to be determined.
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You can reach Christian at cromo@freepress.com .
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Framber Valdez finishes sad season strong but Tigers bats silent again
