DETROIT (AP) — Eduardo Valencia became the 10th Detroit player to homer in his first career plate appearance, Framber Valdez pitched seven innings and the Tigers beat the Athletics 4-1 on Thursday night for a series sweep.
Valencia entered as a pinch-hitter in the seventh against Hogan Harris and sent a 425-foot shot to center to cap the scoring and help the Tigers seal their third straight series victory. The 26-year-old Venezuelan catcher was called up from Triple-A Toledo on Thursday with fellow catcher Dillon Dingler recovering from a right hand contusion.
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Detroit Tigers' Eduardo Valencia reacts to hitting a home run against the Athletics during the seventh inning of a baseball game Thursday, July 9, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Detroit Tigers' Eduardo Valencia, right, reacts to hitting a home run as Athletics catcher Shea Langeliers, left, looks on during the seventh inning of a baseball game Thursday, July 9, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Detroit Tigers' Eduardo Valencia is doused by water after a baseball game against the Athletics Thursday, July 9, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Detroit Tigers' Zach McKinstry celebrates his two-run home run with Kerry Carpenter (30) against the Athletics during the fifth inning of a baseball game Thursday, July 9, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Detroit Tigers' Eduardo Valencia hits a home run against the Athletics during the seventh inning of a baseball game Thursday, July 9, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Valdez (5-6) had a season-high nine strikeouts, while allowing one run on three hits. Kyle Finnegan worked the eighth, and Kenley Jansen the ninth for his 11th save.
Detroit has won five in a row and is 21-12 since June 1. The Tigers have climbed within 4 1/2 games of first place in the AL Central.
Jake Rogers and Zach McKinstry also homered for Detroit.
Rogers hit his third homer of the year, and second in two games, to left in the third to make it 1-0. McKinstry had a two-run shot to left in the fifth.
Jack Perkins (2-5) allowed three runs on two hits in three inning for the Athletics.
Henry Bolte drove in the Athletics' only run in the fifth on a groundout. The Athletics' Zack Gelof left the game in the third after injuring his knee crashing into the outfield wall.
Tigers RHP Jack Flaherty (2-8. 4.60 ERA) was set to start Friday night at home against Philadelphia and RHP Aaron Nola (3-6, 5.87). The Athletics had not announced a starter for their game Friday night in Chicago opposite White Sox RHP Sean Burke (5-4, 3.56).
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Detroit Tigers' Eduardo Valencia reacts to hitting a home run against the Athletics during the seventh inning of a baseball game Thursday, July 9, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Detroit Tigers' Eduardo Valencia, right, reacts to hitting a home run as Athletics catcher Shea Langeliers, left, looks on during the seventh inning of a baseball game Thursday, July 9, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Detroit Tigers' Eduardo Valencia is doused by water after a baseball game against the Athletics Thursday, July 9, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Detroit Tigers' Zach McKinstry celebrates his two-run home run with Kerry Carpenter (30) against the Athletics during the fifth inning of a baseball game Thursday, July 9, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Detroit Tigers' Eduardo Valencia hits a home run against the Athletics during the seventh inning of a baseball game Thursday, July 9, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
PROVO, Utah (AP) — The defendant in Charlie Kirk’s killing told his roommate “he wishes he hadn’t done it” the day after the conservative activist was shot in the neck while speaking at Utah Valley University, a recording played in court revealed Thursday.
Lance Twiggs, who was also defendant Tyler Robinson’s romantic partner, said in an interview with law enforcement that the teary interaction with Robinson happened in their apartment in southern Utah, more than 200 miles (320 kilometers) from where Kirk was shot.
Later that same day — and only about an hour before turning himself in — Robinson posted "it was me at UVU yesterday,” in a chat room on the Discord instant messaging platform, according to investigators and messages shown by prosecutors.
Robinson is charged with aggravated murder and has not entered a plea. He turned himself in a day after the Sept. 10 shooting of Kirk, a close ally of President Donald Trump credited with helping galvanize young voters for the Republican in the 2024 election.
Ammunition found in the gun used to kill Kirk had engravings that included “Hey Facist! CATCH!” and “If you Read This, You Are GAY,” according to prosecutors, who are seeking the death penalty.
Robinson appeared to furrow his brow and smirk when text messages he sent to Twiggs about the engraved bullets were displayed in the courtroom Thursday.
Robinson's family sat behind him, and his mom cried as the Discord messages were read aloud. She rubbed the shoulder of one of Robinson’s brothers, who listened with his head bowed.
Defense attorneys unsuccessfully fought the public release of the statements from Twiggs and the chat room messages. They argued prosecutors would characterize the material as a confession, undermining Robinson’s right to a fair trial.
After prolonged debate that included an attorney for Kirk’s family arguing for the material to be publicly released, state District Judge Tony Graf allowed a redacted version of Twiggs' video interview to be played. Some parts were blacked out, with only audio.
Graf is weighing whether prosecutors have enough evidence to bring Robinson to trial. He won’t rule until after both sides present arguments on Sept. 1.
Robinson’s attorneys have not commented on his guilt or innocence but have sought to get the death penalty taken off the table, so far unsuccessfully.
Defense attorney Michael Burt tried to inject doubt into the prosecution’s case by challenging the reliability of ballistics tests on a bullet fragment recovered from Kirk’s body. Authorities sought to tie the fragment to the suspected murder weapon, but the results were inconclusive.
“Saying anything but inconclusive was inappropriate,” said Samantha Karner with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, a federal law enforcement agency.
The defense earlier in the week had questioned the reliability of DNA evidence that investigators said linked Robinson to the scene. Experts say the science behind DNA testing is sound.
Prosecutors allege Robinson confessed in a handwritten note to Twiggs that read: “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk, and I took it.” The note, shown in full for the first time Thursday, continued, “I wish we could have lived in a world where this did not feel necessary."
Robinson also allegedly sent a text to Twiggs saying he targeted Kirk because he “had enough of his hatred.”
State Bureau of Investigation Agent Brian Davis recounted the messages exchanged between Twiggs and Robinson under questioning by a prosecutor Thursday. Included were texts from Robinson worrying about leaving fingerprints on a rifle that belonged to his grandfather, which authorities believe he used to shoot Kirk.
Twiggs spoke to authorities on Sept. 12 — two days after Kirk was assassinated while speaking to a crowd of thousands — and again on April 20, Davis said. He was given immunity for the statements, meaning what Twiggs said cannot be used against him in a potential criminal case.
Prosecutors contend the shooting endangered others at Kirk’s campus event — an aggravating circumstance that could make the crime punishable by death under Utah law. Robinson also faces possible sentence enhancements based on claims by prosecutors that he targeted Kirk because of his political views.
Twiggs said in the April interview that Robinson sometimes talked about politics, including Trump. But Twiggs said he never heard Robinson talk about Kirk before the shooting. The defendant also did not talk much about LGBTQ rights, Twiggs testified.
Kirk’s parents and widow, Erika, sat a few rows back from Robinson's family on Thursday. U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, a Utah Republican, also was in attendance.
Brandon Tatum, a conservative media personality and close friend of Kirk, said he was “shocked at how much relevant evidence" Twiggs' shared in his interview. He left court Thursday feeling confident about prosecutors' case but had mixed feelings about the judge's decision to hold off ruling until after a September hearing.
"I think the family's waited long enough, but I'd rather it be done right and done in confidence than for it to be hastily done the next day without being thoroughly, I guess, bulletproof," Tatum said.
Another conservative activist, Jack Posobiec, said he got emotional seeing photos of the bullet fragments that hit his friend. "But you have to push through that pain and push through all of that to be able to get justice,” he said.
Investigators say Robinson went to a rooftop near where Kirk was speaking and shot him once in the neck while the activist was taking questions from a crowd of several thousand people. Kirk, 31, was declared dead after being taken to a hospital.
Brown reported from Billings, Montana.
An image of a rifle that prosecutors say was recovered by investigators near Utah Valley University is displayed during a preliminary hearing for Tyler Robinson, who is accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, at the Fourth District Courthouse in Provo, Utah, Thursday, July 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Spenser Heaps, Pool)
A video interview with Lance Twiggs, Tyler Robinson's roommate and reported romantic partner, is shown during a preliminary hearing for Tyler Robinson, who is accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, at the Fourth District Courthouse in Provo, Utah, Thursday, July 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Spenser Heaps, Pool)
A photograph which prosecutors say shows a text message exchange between Tyler Robinson, who is accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, and Robinson's roommate and romantic partner Lance Twiggs, is shown during a preliminary hearing at the Fourth District Courthouse in Provo, Utah, Thursday, July 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Spenser Heaps, Pool)
Tyler Robinson, who is accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, listens during a preliminary hearing at the Fourth District Courthouse in Provo, Utah, Thursday, July 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Spenser Heaps, Pool)
A law enforcement officer uses binoculars to watch from the roof of the Fourth District Courthouse in Provo, Utah, Thursday, July 9, 2026, before a preliminary hearing for Tyler Robinson, who is accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk. (AP Photo/Spenser Heaps)
Tyler Robinson, center, who is accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, sits with his defense attorneys during a preliminary hearing at the Fourth District Courthouse in Provo, Utah, Thursday, July 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Spenser Heaps, Pool)
Tyler Robinson, who is accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, listens during a preliminary hearing at the Fourth District Courthouse in Provo, Utah, Thursday, July 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Spenser Heaps, Pool)
Reporters and photographers watch from an elevated parking structure outside the Fourth District Courthouse in Provo, Utah, Thursday, July 9, 2026, before a preliminary hearing for Tyler Robinson, who is accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk. (AP Photo/Spenser Heaps)
A law enforcement officer uses binoculars to watch from the roof of the Fourth District Courthouse in Provo, Utah, Thursday, July 9, 2026, before a preliminary hearing for Tyler Robinson, who is accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk. (AP Photo/Spenser Heaps)
Defense attorney Michael Burt arrives for a preliminary hearing for Tyler Robinson, who is accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, at the Fourth District Courthouse in Provo, Utah, Thursday, July 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Spenser Heaps)
Charlie Kirk's parents, Kathryn, and Robert Kirk, right, arrive at the Fourth District Courthouse in Provo, Utah, for a hearing for Tyler Robinson, accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, Thursday, July 9, 2026 (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)
Police officials handle a dog as people access the limited public seating available at a preliminary hearing for Tyler Robinson, the Utah man accused of fatally shooting Charlie Kirk, in Provo, Utah, Wednesday, July 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)
Defense attorney Michael Burt looks on during a preliminary hearing for Tyler Robinson, who is accused of fatally shooting Charlie Kirk, at the Fourth District Court in Provo, Utah, Wednesday, July 8, 2026. (Tess Crowley/The Deseret News via AP, Pool)
Agent Brian Davis, of the State Bureau of Investigation, testifies during a preliminary hearing for Tyler Robinson, the Utah man accused of fatally shooting Charlie Kirk, at Fourth District Court in Provo, Utah, Wednesday, July 8, 2026. (Tess Crowley/The Deseret News via AP, Pool)
Tyler Robinson, accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, listens during a preliminary hearing at the Fourth District Court in Provo, Utah, Wednesday, July 8, 2026. (Tess Crowley/The Deseret News via AP, Pool)
