Valdez hit Story with the first pitch of his at-bat following back-to-back Boston home runs on Tuesday
By Mike Axisa May 5, 2026 at 8:36 pm ET • 1 min read 
Imagn Images Benches cleared between the Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park on Tuesday. Tigers lefty Framber Valdez gave up back-to-back home runs to Willson Contreras and Wilyer Abreu, then hit Trevor Story up high with a 94 mph fastball on the first pitch of his at-bat. Story understandably took exception, and the benches cleared.
The brawl -- "brawl" -- was fairly tame with no punches thrown. Here's the entire sequence:
Unless you're the pitcher, you can never truly know his intentions, but that looked intentional. Valdez was having a rough night, he gave up back-to-back homers, and he took it out on Story. If nothing else, suspicion is warranted.
As a member of the Houston Astros last September, Valdez denied intentionally crossing up his catcher after surrendering a grand slam. He ignored the catcher's signal to step off and instead threw a fastball to his chest..
Valdez, who's in his first year in Detroit, was the only player ejected from Tuesday's game. If MLB determines he hit Story intentionally, he will be suspended. The Tigers are already without Casey Mize (groin), Reese Olson (shoulder), Tarik Skubal (elbow), and Justin Verlander (hip). They can ill-afford to lose Valdez for even one start.
The Red Sox tagged Valdez for 10 runs (seven earned) on nine hits and one walk in three innings. Prior to Tuesday, Valdez had never surrendered more than eight runs in a game.
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