Eduardo Valencia on Thursday made history for the Detroit Tigers, got emotional while thanking his family and home country of earthquake-rocked Venezuela and then celebrated after their MLB game against the Oakland Athletics with a hug from his wife on the field.
The 26-year-old catcher became the 10th Detroit player to homer in his first career plate appearance, helping the Tigers to a 4-1 victory over the Athletics that completed a series sweep.
“I was waiting a lot for this, for my family, for Venezuela and I’m so excited,” Valencia said as his voice cracked and he fought back tears during an on-field interview after the game.
Photo: AFP
Valencia was called up from Triple-A Toledo earlier in the day with All-Star catcher Dillon Dingler recovering from a bruised right hand. Valencia entered as a pinch-hitter for Kerry Carpenter in the seventh inning against Hogan Harris and sent a shot to center to cap the scoring for Detroit.
“I was just thinking, like, I was trying to hit [with] contact,” Valencia said. “Get a good pitch, just be the most calm that I can do it. I was so excited.”
He is the first Tigers player to homer in his first big-league at-bat since Akil Baddoo on April 4, 2021.
Photo: AP
The native of Valencia, Venezuela, pointed to the sky and pounded his chest as he rounded the bases with a huge smile, then pointed to his wife in the stands and made a heart symbol with his hands.
Valencia’s thoughts were also with his parents, who could not make the trip to see his debut, and the people of Venezuela, who are recovering from a double earthquake on June 24 that killed at least 920 people and injured 3,360, authorities said.
Many more are feared dead.
Photo: Reuters / Rick Osentoski / Imagn Images
“This is for all Venezuela people,” Valencia said of his stellar debut, thanking his family and coaches. “They gave me everything.”
A couple of Valencia’s happy teammates dumped a bucket of water on him.
Valencia, who stayed in the game as the Tigers’ designated hitter after his homer, was hit by a pitch from Mark Leiter Jr in his second plate appearance.
Framber Valdez threw seven innings of one-run ball for the Tigers.
Valdez (5-6) retired the first 11 hitters he faced and allowed just three hits, struck out nine and issued no walks in a dominant performance.
Jake Rogers and Zach McKinstry also hit home runs for Detroit, while Tigers second-baseman Lee Hao-yu of Taiwan had one hit from five at-bats.
Jack Perkins (2-5) took the loss, serving as the bulk reliever on a scheduled bullpen day and allowing three runs in three innings.
Additional reporting by staff writer and Reuters
Elsewhere on Thursday, it was:
‧ Cardinals 4, Brewers 8
‧ Giants 8, Rockies 2
‧ Marlins 8, Mariners 4
‧ Mets 7, Royals 3
‧ Orioles 3, Cubs 2
‧ Padres 1, Diamondbacks 3
‧ Pirates 5, Braves 10
‧ Rangers 7, Angels 6
‧ Rays 4, Yankees 12
‧ Reds 0, Phillies 1
‧ Twins 2, Guardians 5
‧ White Sox 1, Red Sox 2
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