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.
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
VALDEZ
KING
