Framber Valdez finding his way with Tigers: "I feel a big responsibility"

Framber Valdez couldn't choose just one. Nor could Dillon Dingler.

Was his best curveball the one he snapped off to Anthony Volpe in the sixth, so sharp that Volpe challenged the called third strike only to learn that the entire ball landed inside the zone? Yeah, that one was good, Valdez said through his translator, but there was "also the one when I struck out Chisholm," which he happened to do twice, and "maybe," he added with a slightly sheepish smile, "the second guy in the lineup," Ben Rice, who went down swinging in the third.

And don't forget the one to Goldschmidt, Dingler pointed out, who caught nothing but air in the fifth.

If the sinker is Valdez's bread-and-butter pitch, "my curveball is the one that has put food on the plate for me and my family, so I trust in it big time," he said after leading the resurgent Tigers to their fourth straight win, 5-3 over the Yankees.

"I’ve had games in which my curveball isn’t in the best shape or the best location, but it’s baseball, it’s part of the game, and I’ve had bad days in those situations — not today," he said. "Today I knew I had to mix my pitches so I could keep the hitters off balance and take advantage of my curveball. It was sharper today."

Valdez has been sharper this month. After signing a three-year, $115 million deal with the Tigers to team up with Tarik Skubal at the top of the rotation -- and perhaps to replace him if and when Skubal departs this winter (or earlier) -- Valdez did not get off to a good start. He took a couple beatings in April and May, and came so unwound on the second occasion that he beaned a batter and was suspended for a turn, at a time Detroit's rotation was already thinned by injuries.

It invited more questions about his character after last season's incident in Houston where Valdez appeared to deliberately cross up his catcher with a fastball to the chest in objection to the sequence that led to a grand slam. Moreover, Valdez's ERA of 4.39 through his first 12 starts with Detroit invited questions about the investment itself, and why the Astros were so willing to let him walk.

The Tigers are starting to reap some rewards. Valdez has an ERA of 2.45 in June, doing his part in a rotation that has the lowest ERA (3.47) in the majors this month. He smothered the top offense in the American League in Monday night's series opener, albeit with the Yankees missing two of their biggest bats in Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton.

It wasn't easy early for Valdez, who ran into two-out trouble in each of the first three innings. He said he was "pissed at myself" for losing the zone at times, "so I told myself, 'I gotta throw strikes. If I don’t give any walks, I won’t have any issues.'" Valdez zeroed in after the Tigers took a 3-1 lead in the third and cruised from there. He retired the last 10 batters he faced, six via strikeout.

The Tigers led 5-1 when Valdez walked off the mound in the sixth, having outdueled his former rotation mate in Houston Gerrit Cole.

"I loved how he locked back in and dropped us off in the game right where he needed to," said A.J. Hinch.

Hinch is one of the reasons Valdez is here. He helped Valdez break into the big leagues in Houston, and recruited him to Detroit this winter with a one-on-one dinner that sealed the deal for both sides. Hinch vouched for Valdez's competitive character as soon as the Tigers signed him, and was accordingly frustrated last month after Valdez's actions undermined Hinch's words and cost the team.

Since returning from his suspension, Valdez has a 3.30 ERA in eight starts that essentially matches his ERA over eight years in Houston. The Tigers need him. Their only hope of getting back in the playoff race revolves around the rotation, with Skubal and Valdez setting the tone at the top.

"I feel a big responsibility," Valdez said. "First of all, they paid me what I considered I was worth. And they’ve been giving me support, they’ve been giving me trust. What I can do is just do my best when I’m on the field, and support and cheer for my guys when I’m off the field. We’ve been together in the good and the bad moments, we’ve been trying to win every single day. The results haven’t happened yet, but that’s what we’re rooting for, all of us, together as one. I’m happy to have this chance with the Tigers."

For 10 years, the Astros were all that Valdez knew. A new team brings new coaches, new catchers and new scouting reports, new faces and new info, and an entirely new life off the field. It appears that Valdez is settling into his surroundings: "I feel like I'm getting my rhythm and getting on my path," he said, "and the guys are noticing that." Dingler says that Valdez, 32, is a funny guy who's "great to be around," a "jokester" with his teammates, and "we're plenty glad to have him."

"I hate to say this," Dingler said with a smile, "but obviously I miss out on half the jokes because they’re in Spanish."

Dingler was consulting his iPad the other day in the dugout when a live selfie appeared on his home screen -- "you know the widgets that pop up," he said. It was a selfie of Valdez, just saying hi. Dingler couldn't help but laugh.

"No matter what your experience level is, all the way to a veteran guy signing a contract to a team that has won the past couple seasons, he wants to do well," said Hinch. "He wants to be part of it. I don’t know if that was anything that bothered him on the front end of the season, but he is obviously more comfortable. His routines are getting better, he’s starting to lock in why things are going well or why things aren’t going well. He’s gotta continue to trust himself with the ball on the ground."

Valdez induced the highest ground ball rate in the majors over his final five seasons with the Astros, when he also ranked ninth in WAR among pitchers. The sinker is how he gets soft contact and outs. The curveball is how he gets whiffs. The recipe hasn't been quite as reliable this season, but Monday night was a pretty good example of how it's supposed to look. Valdez mixed in enough changeups to keep the Yankees guessing, and flummoxed them with his two best pitches.

And this is how it has to look for the Tigers as they try to save their season, one strong start after another. Valdez kept the ball rolling against the Yankees. Casey Mize is next. Then Skubal. The Tigers hit themselves into a hole in May. They're trying to pitch their way out of it in June.