Framber Valdez throws seven scoreless innings, Riley Greene powers Tigers past Cleveland

Riley Greene put the Tigers’ offense on his back tonight, and Framber Valdez made sure there was no need for any late-inning rescue. Greene homered twice and drove in four runs while Valdez delivered seven scoreless innings in Detroit’s 6-0 victory over Cleveland at Progressive Field. It was the Tigers’ first shutout win since Aug. 13, giving them a night where a strong start, timely hitting and a clean finish from the bullpen all came together.

Greene finished 4-for-5 with two home runs, a double and three runs scored. He drove in Detroit’s first four runs and scored its sixth, having a hand in nearly everything the Tigers generated offensively. Against a Cleveland starter who was piling up strikeouts, Greene’s ability to do damage made the difference between another frustrating night at the plate and a comfortable win.

Parker Messick opened the game by striking out Gleyber Torres and Hao-Yu Lee, but Greene followed with a solo home run to center field. His 17th homer of the season gave Valdez a lead before he threw his first pitch. Greene added to it in the third, singling home Torres after a leadoff single and a walk to Lee put two runners aboard. Lee was thrown out trying to advance to third on the play, but Detroit had a 2-0 advantage.

Valdez’s most important work came early, before he settled into a stretch in which Cleveland could get very little going. David Fry and Angel Genao opened the second inning with consecutive singles, and Petey Halpin’s sacrifice bunt put runners at second and third with one out. With Detroit holding a one-run lead, Cleveland had an opportunity to change the direction of the game without needing much more contact.

Valdez kept both runners there. Austin Hedges flied out to Ben Malgeri in right field without bringing home a run, and Brayan Rocchio grounded out to John Peck at shortstop to end the inning. Those two outs protected the lead, and Cleveland did not collect another hit the rest of the night.

The left-hander finished with three hits allowed, one walk and three strikeouts over seven innings. He retired 10 consecutive hitters after Genao’s second-inning single before walking Hedges with one out in the fifth. That baserunner disappeared immediately when Rocchio grounded into an inning-ending double play started by Peck.

Valdez continued getting outs on contact in the sixth, with Spencer Torkelson contributing a falling catch on Angel Martínez’s popup. In the seventh, Valdez hit Jo Adell to begin the inning, but a forceout and another double play kept Cleveland off the board. Lee, Javier Báez and Torkelson turned that final double play to complete his outing.

Meanwhile, Greene kept supplying the offense against Messick. He opened the sixth with his second home run of the game, this one to left-center, extending Detroit’s lead to 3-0 and bringing his season total to 18. Messick struck out 12 over six innings, but Greene went 3-for-3 against him and drove in all three runs he allowed.

Detroit finally created more breathing room against Cleveland’s bullpen in the seventh. Torres singled and Lee walked before Greene doubled to center off Matt Festa, scoring Torres for a 4-0 lead. Dillon Dingler followed with a sacrifice fly, and Malgeri singled home Greene to finish the three-run inning.

Malgeri contributed a three-hit game of his own, finishing 3-for-5 with a double and an RBI. Torres and Peck each added two hits, while Lee drew two walks and scored a run. Greene provided the biggest swings, but the seventh showed what could happen when Detroit put runners in front of him and followed his production with a couple of productive plate appearances.

Kyle Finnegan retired Cleveland in order in the eighth, and Beau Brieske did the same in the ninth to complete the three-hit shutout. Detroit’s pitchers faced the minimum over the final seven innings, using two double plays to erase the only Cleveland runners during that stretch.

The Tigers still struck out 17 times, so there is room to separate the result from the overall offensive performance. But Greene consistently punished Cleveland when he had the opportunity, and Valdez gave Detroit seven innings without allowing an early jam to become a bigger problem. For one night, the Tigers got the production they needed from the middle of the order and the kind of start that made those runs hold up.