DETROIT (Interstat) — Framber Valdez delivered a masterful performance in his Comerica Park debut, and Dillon Dingler provided the decisive blow with a two-run homer as the Detroit Tigers snapped a four-game skid with a 4-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday afternoon in their home opener.

A sellout crowd of 45,008 watched the Tigers, who entered the game with a 2-4 record, execute a crisp, complete performance to hand the Cardinals their first shutout loss of the young season. The game time was 2 hours, 31 minutes.

The most critical sequence of the contest unfolded in the bottom of the fourth inning, breaking a scoreless pitcher’s duel. With one out, Riley Greene laced a double to right field off Cardinals starter Michael McGreevy. On a 1-1 pitch, Dingler then connected, sending a fly ball deep over the wall in left-center field for his second home run of the season. The two-run shot provided Valdez and the Tigers with all the offense they would require, shifting the momentum firmly to the home side.

Valdez, the veteran left-hander acquired in the offseason, was the story. He efficiently silenced a St. Louis lineup that had averaged over five runs per game in its first six contests. In six dominant innings, Valdez allowed just three hits and two walks while striking out five. He navigated his only significant trouble in the top of the fourth, when the Cardinals loaded the bases with two outs on a single, an error, and a walk. Valdez escaped by inducing a flyout from José Fermín, preserving the scoreless tie and setting the stage for Dingler’s heroics in the bottom half of the frame.

McGreevy, the losing pitcher for St. Louis, was effective early but ultimately succumbed to the Tigers’ lineup. He was charged with three runs on seven hits over 4 2/3 innings, walking one and striking out four. The Cardinals’ best chance against him came and went in the third inning, when they put runners on the corners with one out but grounded into a force play to end the threat.

Detroit added insurance runs in the fifth and sixth innings. In the fifth, consecutive two-out singles by Kerry Carpenter and Greene plated Gleyber Torres, who had reached on a fielder’s choice. In the sixth, Javier Báez drove in Parker Meadows, who had been hit by a pitch, with a two-out single to center off reliever Justin Bruihl.

The Tigers’ bullpen was flawless in securing the shutout. Will Vest struck out two in a scoreless seventh, Tyler Holton pitched a perfect eighth, and Kyle Finnegan worked around a single in the ninth to seal the win. Detroit’s relievers combined for three innings of one-hit ball with four strikeouts.

St. Louis, which fell to 4-3, managed only five hits total and went 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position. They put two runners on in the eighth against Vest, but a strikeout and a groundout ended the inning. Cardinals relievers Gordon Graceffo and Chris Roycroft provided scoreless outings, but the offense could not mount a rally.

The victory improved Detroit’s regular-season record against St. Louis to a historically strong mark, though the Cardinals hold a 2-1 advantage in World Series meetings between the franchises, having won in 1934 and 2006. Detroit’s championship came in 1968.

Valdez moved to 1-0 on the season, building on a quality start in San Diego on March 27. McGreevy fell to 0-1.

The game defied the pregame projections from Interstat, which had simulated a 3-2 Cardinals victory and gave Detroit a 56.3% probability to win. The Tigers, installed as 1.5-run favorites, covered the spread, but the combined four runs fell well under the over/under line of 7.5.

The Tigers and Cardinals continue their three-game interleague series at Comerica Park on Saturday afternoon. St. Louis will then travel to Washington for a three-game set beginning Monday, while Detroit will host the series finale Sunday before embarking on a four-game road trip to Minnesota.