The Detroit Tigers opened up their three-game road series against the Chicago Cubs on Monday night with a nail-biting 8-6 victory in 10 innings. It began with a half-hour rain delay and ended in extra frames, and in between the two was plenty of action and zaniness. But what’s important is that the good guys won.
With a chance to clinch the series, left-hander Framber Valdez gets the start looking to build upon his last outing before the All-Star break. The 32-year-old earned his 10th quality start of
the 2026 campaign against the Athletics, matching his season high with seven innings, allowing just one run on three hits while striking out nine — another season high — en route to his fifth win in a 4-1 final at Comerica Park.
Opposite him is Ethan Roberts, who gets his first start in his 24th appearance of the season after putting up sub-replacement player numbers as a reliever. This will also be the 29-year-old’s first outing of July after a brutal June that saw him post an 8.38 ERA and an 8.27 FIP over 11 games stretching across 9 2/3 innings, serving up 13 hits (three home runs) and seven walks while striking out five plus a hit-by-pitch.
Here is a summary of both pitchers’ stats ahead of Game 2 of the series in the Windy City.
Detroit Tigers (47-53) vs. Chicago Cubs (56-44)
Time (ET): 8:05 p.m.
Place: Wrigley Field, Chicago, Illinois
SB Nation Site: Bleed Cubbie Blue
Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network
Game 101: LHP Framber Valdez (5-6, 4.10 ERA) vs. RHP Ethan Roberts (0-2, 4.21 ERA)
VALDEZ
ROBERTS
