Tigers manager A.J. Hinch doesn’t back Framber Valdez after Red Sox beaning ignites benches-clearing fracas

Framber Valdez had to wear this one on his own.

Tigers manager A.J. Hinch indicated that his lefty pitcher crossed a line by beaning the Red Sox’s Trevor Story after allowing back-to-back home runs — the ninth and 10th runs he surrendered, respectively — in the fourth inning of a 10-3 home beatdown against Boston on Wednesday night.

The beaning — which Valdez later claimed was unintentional — led to the benches clearing and Valdez being ejected, and it’s possible he could be suspended.

“I understand their frustration, I understand the optics, I understand the whole thing. We play a really good brand of baseball here, that didn’t feel like it,” Hinch said after a second straight loss to Boston. “That’s not judging intent, I have no idea, but I know when you go out on the field and you end up sort of in those confrontations you usually feel like you’re in your right. It didn’t feel good being out there, so I understand their frustrations, I understand the moment and it was a low moment of a frustrating night.”

Hinch, a veteran manager, knows that it’s a bad look for a pitcher to get tattooed like Valdez did Tuesday and resort to plunking the other team.

And to make matters worse, Valdez did little to nothing in the moment to make it seem like an accident.

Boston already tagged him for eight runs through the first three innings while Willson Contreras and Wilyer Abreu homered in a span of three pitches to make it a 10-2 game.

The next pitch, a 94-mph fastball, rocketed squarely into Story’s back, which one NESN announcer immediately called out.

“That’s tired,” the analyst said. “You can’t get ’em out, so you throw at ’em.

“That was as blatant as you’ve ever seen. First pitch, right between the numbers.”

Home plate umpire Adam Beck immediately stood in front of Story in an attempt to prevent any scuffle but his teammates started chirping — especially Contreras — and took to the field.

Members of both bullpens made their ways onto the field.

Valdez called the ejection “unfair” since he didn’t receive a warning.

The southpaw also has a muddied history when it comes to similar situations, having been accused last September of intentionally crossing up his catcher and hitting him with a pitch after some miscommunication between the two preceded a grand slam by the Yankees’ Trent Grisham.

“No, not at all. It was not intentional, it was not on purpose. It might look like that, but it wasn’t,” Valdez said through translator Carlos Guillen. “I was trying to throw strikes after the two consecutive home runs. … That pitch came out of my hand, it wasn’t on purpose at all.”

Story had a different view, and his interim manager, Chad Tracey, called it “weak.”

“I think we all know what’s what,” Story said. “It’s pretty indisputable.”

MLB could punish Valdez and it would come at an inopportune time for an inconsistent Tigers team (18-19) that just lost ace Tarik Skubal for a few months due to elbow surgery, and with fellow starters Jackson Jobe, Casey Mize, Reese Olson all on the injured list.

“I don’t think and I do not expect to get suspended,” he said. “Again, if it was on purpose. … If it would have been on purpose, I would have gone toward the hitter saying something, yelling at something, which didn’t happen. I was calm.

“I know how the situation is for this team, but there shouldn’t be a suspension in this situation.”