The 2026 campaign opened with a bang for the Detroit Tigers, who slugged their way to an 8-2 victory on Thursday afternoon inside Petco Park behind a breakout effort from Kevin McGoinigle in his MLB debut.
The Motor City Kitties now have a chance to clinch a series win over the Pads with their biggest offseason acquisition on the mound: left-hander Framber Valdez. The 32-year-old from the Dominican Republic had spent all eight of his previous seasons with the Houston Astros, so he will be making his first-ever appearance in a different uniform on Friday night.
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Opposite him is right-hander Michael King, who opens up his third year in San Diego looking to bounce back from an injury-marred 2025 campaign that limited him to just 73 1/3 innings. His stats also ballooned following a 2024 season that saw him finish ninth in the Cy Young race.
Below is a look at how the two starters match up ahead of Friday night’s battle.
Detroit Tigers (1-0) vs. San Diego Padres (0-1)
Time (ET): 9:40 p.m. ET
Place: Petco Park, San Diego, California
SB Nation Site: Gaslamp Ball
Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network
Game 2: LHP Framber Valdez (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. RHP Michael King (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
* Note: Stats in the table below are Fangraphs’ 2026 projections
|
Player |
G |
IP |
K% |
BB% |
ERA |
FIP |
fWAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Valdez |
31 |
194.0 |
21.5% |
8.0% |
3.54 |
3.56 |
3.6 |
|
King |
29 |
161.0 |
24.7% |
8.6% |
3.80 |
3.99 |
2.7 |
VALDEZ
KING
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