SAN FRANCISCO — Apparently, little has changed.

Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland kept insisting that deposed closer Jose Valverde would be a “big part” of the World Series.

After making some little adjustments, the Tigers needed to find a spot — trying to avoid it being too big of a moment — to work him back in. They found that in the seventh inning of Wednesday’s Game 1, with the Tigers already trailing by five runs.

What did Valverde do with his big chance?

Gave up two add-on runs on four straight hits before getting pulled. The only out he got was striking out the opposing pitcher, Tim Lincecum, on a 3-2 pitch.

Big disappointment.

“You know, he wasn’t terrible, he just wasn’t good,” Leyland said.

Then again, is it a big shock?

In his last three appearances, Valverde, who before Wednesday hadn’t pitched since his blowup in Game 1 of the ALCS on Oct. 13, has now given up nine runs on 11 hits, faced 17 batters and gotten five outs.

And he hasn’t finished an inning in any of those three appearances.

Big conundrum.

Having given him a chance at redemption, in a lower-risk situation than the ninth inning of a close game, do the Tigers pitch Valverde again in this series? Will the soon-to-be free agent see the field again in this uniform?

“You never know,” Valverde said in the postgame locker room. “You never know. You have to play until it’s over.”

But is Valverde’s three-year run with the Tigers — which included 110 saves — over? Should the Tigers throw him in a key situation again, if they can’t trust him?

Would they?

“Absolutely,” said pitching coach Jeff Jones.

The Tigers insist they’re seeing signs of improvement.

“I told him, ‘You threw the ball a lot better than what you had the last couple of times.’ His velocity was better, he threw some pretty good splits,” Jones said.

It’s not velocity. It’s not mechanics anymore.

“Everything working good for me. I have my sinker, my split, my cutter. Everything’s good. You have to give credit for the hitters. You know what I mean? (Pablo) Sandoval, (Angel) Pagan, (Marco) Scutaro, (Buster) Posey. Everybody, you know what I mean. They hit my best pitches,” Valverde said, insisting that his velocity is fine, and his mechanics are better. “100 percent. My mechanics, good. What I say already, I got all my pitches working. ... I had my velocity. The thing is, is no throw the ball 97, 98. You have to move the ball everywhere.”

Except in the middle of the plate. That would be a bad place.

“His stuff was fine. It’s just location,” catcher Alex Avila said. “The balls that were hit were just in the middle of the plate and whether they were running one way or the other, it was just in the middle of the plate.”

It’s become a conundrum in more than one way.

What exactly is wrong?

“For whatever reason it’s just — doesn’t seem to be coming out quite right, although he did have a few 93s, a couple 93s, 92, 93,” Leyland said. “You know, it’s a little bit puzzling, to be honest with you. It looks like it’s just not quite exploding.”

Is it confidence?

“I have my confidence already, you know what I mean?” Valverde said. “I never lose my confidence. I never lose, you know what I mean, what I have to do.”

Is it pressure?

“I don’t have pressure. No, I don’t. I think I doing my job. I know it’s two runs come in, but all my pitches working,” the closer said. “You have to — not just me, everybody — you have to give credit for the hitter.”

To alleviate both of those possibilities, the Tigers tried putting Valverde in a lower-leverage situation, one where a save wasn’t on the line.

First time since Aug. 22, 2006 he’d entered a game before the start of the eighth inning, and just the 27th time in 599 career appearances in the regular season and postseason combined.

“For me, doesn’t matter what inning I throw, it’s a save situation for me,” Valverde said. “I want to support my teammates as much as I can, throw good pitches. Bad pitches sometimes. That’s it.”

But that is it.

Good pitches, bad pitches, all mixed in.

And even if the opposing hitters are getting hits on more of the former than the latter — well, they’re still getting hits.

According to MLB.com, Valverde is the second pitcher all time to allow two or more runs in less than an inning in three separate appearances in the same postseason.

Will he get another chance in a big spot ... or even a little one?

“You never know,” Valverde said.

Email Matthew B. Mowery at matt.mowery@oakpress.com and follow him on Twitter @matthewbmowery. Text keyword “Tigers” to 22700 to get updates sent to your phone. Msg & data rates may apply. Text HELP for help. Text STOP to cancel.