The Tigers’ run of wins came to a hard stop Thursday night in Arlington, where a rough outing from Framber Valdez and a quiet offense left them on the wrong end of a 10-4 loss to the Texas Rangers.
Detroit had just come off an unexpectedly strong series against the Yankees, which made this trip feel like a chance to see whether the Tigers really do play up against teams over .500. Instead, the series opener turned into a long night, with Nathan Eovaldi working on the other side and the Rangers piling up early damage.
The first inning offered a quick warning sign. Detroit went down 1-2-3 in the top half, and after Josh Jung and Ezequiel Duran opened the bottom half with singles, Valdez escaped without allowing a run.
That calm didn’t last. Elias Diaz led off the next frame with a solo homer, and the inning kept unraveling from there.
Alejandro Osuno singled, Nicky Lopez singled, and Justin Foscue drew a walk to load the bases. Valdez then walked in a run before Duran lifted a sacrifice fly to bring in another.
By the time the inning ended, Texas had a 3-0 lead.
Detroit still couldn’t get much going against Eovaldi through the first three innings, but Valdez wasn’t settling in either. In the fourth, Kevin McGonigle drew the Tigers’ first baserunner with a leadoff walk, only for the offense to stall again. Texas answered right back with Lopes’ leadoff single, Jung’s RBI double, and Duran’s run-scoring single to make it 5-0.
That’s when the Tigers finally cracked the scoreboard. Colt Keith opened the fifth with a solo homer, and after Zach McKinstry singled and Hao-Yu Lee followed later in the inning with another homer, Detroit had pulled itself back into the game. McGonigle and Dillon Dingler then singled, but the rally stopped there.
Valdez did manage a much-needed 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the fifth, helped by a strong play from McKinstry. Still, the Tigers had plenty of work ahead of them.
Riley Greene opened the sixth with a double, which chased Eovaldi from the game and brought in Tyler Alexander. Spencer Torkelson singled, and pinch-hitter Ben Malgeri walked to load the bases, but Peyton Gray came in and shut that door.
Detroit’s pitching change in the bottom half did not go nearly as well. Beau Brieske took over for Valdez, whose final line was 5.0 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 1 HR on 87 pitches. Josh Smith then homered as a pinch-hitter, and the Rangers were up 6-0 after six.
The Tigers kept trying to scratch back. McGonigle reached on a dribbler down the third-base line, Kerry Carpenter walked, and McKinstry later doubled before Malgeri singled him home in the seventh.
But Texas kept answering. In the bottom half, Drew Sommers entered and immediately ran into trouble.
Evan Carter singled, Diaz walked on a check swing that should have been called a strike, Osuna delivered a run-scoring single, and Lopez eventually pushed another run across on a comebacker that Sommers let bounce off his glove. Josh Smith added yet another RBI single before Kenley Jansen finally ended the inning.
Carter struck again in the eighth with a two-out solo homer. Diaz doubled, and Osuna singled on a play where nobody covered first in time, extending the Rangers’ lead further.
The Tigers got one last chance in the ninth, but Gavin Collyer retired the side after allowing a leadoff double to Dillon Dingler. Detroit finished the game without another run and had its streak snapped.
The Tigers now get Friday off because of the World Cup before wrapping up the series over the holiday weekend.
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