Detroit came into the series finale needing Valdez to stabilize things after Monday's extra-inning rollercoaster, but Chicago had other plans. The Cubs were on the board almost immediately, and Wrigley smelled blood early.
The Cubs jumped on Valdez right out of the gate, plating runs before he could settle in.
That early damage set the tone. By the time Valdez was pulled, he'd failed to even get through the first inning clean, and the Cubs kept adding on against the Tigers bullpen. What started as a manageable deficit for Detroit ballooned into a full-blown rout, with Chicago pouring it on for the rest of the afternoon.
Before the game got out of hand, the prop bet crowd was circling Ian Happ, who's been striking out at an absurd clip lately and had a rough history against Valdez specifically.
The pregame numbers flagged Happ's cold spell against Valdez and predicted a shootout — the shootout part hit, just not the way the props wanted.
Happ ended up being part of the story anyway, chipping in early as Chicago's lineup ran through the order over and over. By the middle innings the Cubs had built a 9-0 cushion, and Wrigley was rocking the way it only does when a laugher turns into a party.
With the Cubs up 9-0 in the 7th, the Wrigley crowd was on its feet soaking in the blowout.
Things got so lopsided that Detroit waved the white flag on using an actual reliever, turning to a position player to eat innings late — the surest sign a game has gone sideways. Even Detroit's own guys weren't thrilled about it, with reports of frustration in the dugout over management punting on competing all the way through.
A position player on the mound in the 7th said everything about how far out of hand this one had gotten.
PCA is so annoyed the Tigers went to a position player in the 7th. Just wants to compete at all times
The blowout capped a wild, momentum-swinging series between these two clubs, with the Tigers stealing the opener in extras before the Cubs answered with a statement win of their own. For a Chicago team looking to build some separation in a crowded field, torching a quality arm like Valdez this badly is exactly the kind of result that shifts a week's narrative.