GDT: 8/10/10 - DET (54-58) VS TB (68-44) - 7:05 p.m. ET

Hellickson braces for Tigers in second start

By Adam Berry / MLB.com

Although the circumstances surrounding his call back up to the big leagues aren't exactly ideal for Tampa Bay, Jeremy Hellickson is set to return to the mound for the Rays.

The young right-hander, who made his dazzling Major League debut on Aug. 2 against the Twins, joined the team in Detroit before Monday's 6-3 win, which snapped the team's season-long five-game losing streak. Hellickson will start Tuesday's game against the Tigers, replacing Wade Davis, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list Monday along with right-hander Jeff Niemann.

Hellickson was sent back to Triple-A Durham after his first start, a seven-inning outing in which he scattered three hits and surrendered two runs, but he was held back in case the Rays needed him again and only threw two side sessions. He had to quickly leave his Minor League team to rejoin Tampa Bay in Detroit, though the lack of game action had him feeling well-rested when he arrived in the Rays' clubhouse.

"Yeah, I mean, traveling's been tough," Hellickson said. "But I'm here and I'm happy. ... I don't know what happened [to Niemann and Davis], but it's not the way I wanted to get called up."

Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said he thought Hellickson would remain the same quiet, confident pitcher he was in his much-anticipated Major League debut, although he might actually be more relaxed after getting the first start out of the way.

"He didn't look nervous last time, but I'm sure there's a certain amount of comfort, a little more at ease walking through the front door that as opposed to maybe last time," Maddon said. "But I also believe being on the road might be helpful in a sense, too, not being in front of your home crowd when it comes down to relaxing. But knowing Jeremy as I do, if he's throwing the ball where he wants to, he's going to be fine. If he's not, he's not going to be fine."

The Tigers, meanwhile, will send Max Scherzer to the mound. The right-hander had a no-hit bid going until Rays outfielder Matt Joyce broke it up in the sixth inning on July 26, when Matt Garza one-upped him with the first no-hitter in Tampa Bay franchise history. But Detroit manager Jim Leyland remained confident in Scherzer, who has a 2.84 ERA and 18 strikeouts over his last three starts.

"I think he's gotten better as the season has gone on," Leyland said. "I think his slider has gotten better. I think he's locating the ball better. He looks like a potentially outstanding Major League pitcher."

The Twins attributed some of Hellickson's success against them to the fact that they had no Major League game film of the young right-hander to study, but that won't be true for the Tigers this time around. Leyland said he and his staff watched some film of Hellickson's outing - and he came away with one overriding observation.

"Yeah," Leyland said, "he's good."

Rays: Niemann, Davis to DL with shoulder strains; Ekstrom called up
Niemann and Davis were placed on the 15-day disabled list with right shoulder strains Monday, clearing up room for Hellickson, and right-handed reliever Mike Ekstrom was also added to the Rays' roster from Triple-A Durham to strengthen the bullpen. Maddon said the injuries didn't appear to be long-term issues, but right-hander Andy Sonnanstine, who was solid in his spot start Sunday, might once again have to take the mound if Niemann isn't ready for his scheduled outing Saturday.

"Both went through with the exam, MRI included, and both were in pretty good shape, actually," Maddon said. "The best way to describe it is muscle fatigue or shoulder strain. And that we believe they're not going to be out very long. So it was actually good news.

Tigers: Guillen back in the lineup
Carlos Guillen, on the disabled list since July 25 with a strained right calf, batted fifth and played second base for the Tigers on Monday, finishing the game 0-for-3 with a run, a walk and two strikeouts. He was activated as soon as his 15 days were up, but the damage done to Detroit while he was away is clear. The Tigers were 2 1/2 games back in the American League Central when he and Magglio Ordonez were injured and fell to nine games out before he returned. But Guillen remained confident upon his return that Detroit was capable of reducing that margin as quickly as it developed.

"It's tough," Guillen said, "because it's not only myself. Magglio was hurt. When we lost [Joel] Zumaya, it made a lot of difference in the bullpen. With everything, it was like a hurricane. It blew out everything. So the sunshine is out. We got back Brandon [Inge], myself today.

"The season is not over. You never know what's going to happen in this game. The first half of the season, you don't think we're going to be nine games back. Let's see where we're going to be at the end of the season. Who knows in this game?"

Worth noting
The Rays mixed up their batting order Monday night, slotting Carl Crawford and Evan Longoria third and fourth, respectively, a spot back from their usual look. Maddon said it was an attempt to spark Tampa Bay's slumping offense, and it likely won't be a one-game fix.

... Ramon Santiago got a rare start at designated hitter Monday night, as Johnny Damon and Brennan Boesch were kept out of the game against left-hander David Price. Batting second, Santiago went 1-for-4 with a run, walk and strikeout.

... Price became the first 15-game winner in franchise history Monday night, throwing five innings and striking out nine batters while moving to 15-5 on the year.



Pitching matchup

TIGERS: RHP Max Scherzer (7-8, 4.19 ERA)
Scherzer will be looking for a better result against the Rays at Comerica Park after Matt Joyce spoiled his no-hit bid in the sixth inning July 26 at Tropicana Field. He has allowed three runs over 13 1/3 innings in two no-decisions since.

Rays: RHP Jeremy Hellickson (1-0, 2.57 ERA)
Hellickson, who won his Major League debut on Aug. 2 against the Twins, will get the start on Tuesday in place of Wade Davis, who has been battling right shoulder pain and may be on his way to the disabled list.




INJURY UPDATE:
• RHP Zach Miner (right elbow tendinitis, 60-day DL on March 26),
• OF Magglio Ordonez (right ankle fracture, 15-day DL on July 25),
• LHP Bobby Seay (left shoulder strain, 60-day DL on March 26),
• INF Danny Worth (bruised left heel, 15-day DL on August 4),
• RHP Joel Zumaya (non-displaced fracture of the olecranon, 60-day DL on June 29).


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Up next (Probable Pitchers)


• Wednesday, August 11,
TIGERS (RHP Justin Verlander (12-7, 3.81 ERA)) VS RAYS (RHP Matt Garza (11-6, 3.88 ERA)), 1:05 p.m. ET (FS-D HD / AM 1270 & 97.1 FM)

• Thursday, August 12,
OFF DAY

• Friday, August 13,
TIGERS (RHP Jeremy Bonderman (6-7, 4.96 ERA)) AT White Sox (LHP Mark Buehrle (10-9, 4.04 ERA)), 8:10 p.m. ET (FS-D HD / AM 1270 & 97.1 FM)

• Saturday, August 14,
TIGERS (RHP Rick Porcello (5-10, 5.74 ERA)) AT White Sox (RHP Edwin Jackson (1-0, 1.38 ERA)), 7:05 p.m. ET (FS-D HD / AM 1270 & 97.1 FM)

STARTING LINEUPS:

Tampa Bay AVG
Jaso, J, C .274
Zobrist, 2B .265
Crawford, LF .298
Longoria, 3B .286
Joyce, RF .208
Aybar, W, DH .249
Johnson, D, 1B .188
Upton, B, CF .233
Bartlett, SS .240
Totals .251

Detroit AVG
Jackson, A, CF .303
Damon, DH .279
Boesch, RF .281
Cabrera, M, 1B .341
Guillen, C, 2B .276
Peralta, J, SS .242
Inge, 3B .254
Raburn, LF .221
Avila, C .215
Totals .267

Current Conditions

Comerica Park

Partly Cloudy 86 F

Humidity: 59 %

Wind: from the E at 8 mph

Barometer: 29.94 in

last updated: 8/10/10 6:05 PM EDT

Inning 1
Top Half

B:2 S:2 O:1 -
John Jaso grounds out, third baseman Brandon Inge to first baseman Miguel Cabrera.


B:1 S:2 O:2 -
Ben Zobrist grounds out, second baseman Carlos Guillen to first baseman Miguel Cabrera.


B:1 S:2 O:3 -
Carl Crawford flies out to left fielder Ryan Raburn.

0-0 after .5 inning

Bottom Half

B:0 S:1 O:0 -
Austin Jackson singles on a ground ball to second baseman Ben Zobrist.


B:2 S:1 O:1 -
Johnny Damon flies out to center fielder B. Upton.


B:0 S:2 O:3 -
Brennan Boesch grounds into double play, first baseman Dan Johnson to shortstop Jason Bartlett. Austin Jackson out at 2nd.

0-0 after 1 inning

Inning 2
Top Half

B:1 S:1 O:1 -
Evan Longoria grounds out, third baseman Brandon Inge to first baseman Miguel Cabrera.


B:4 S:0 O:1 -
Matt Joyce walks.


B:1 S:2 O:3 - Willy Aybar grounds into double play,
second baseman Carlos Guillen to shortstop Jhonny Peralta to first
baseman Miguel Cabrera. Matt Joyce out at 2nd.

0-0 after 1.5 innings

Bottom Half

B:0 S:1 O:1 -
Miguel Cabrera pops out to third baseman Evan Longoria in foul territory.

B:2 S:2 O:2 -
Carlos Guillen flies out to center fielder B. J. Upton.

B:1 S:3 O:3 -
Jhonny Peralta out swinging.

0-0 after 2 innings

Inning 3
Top Half

B:4 S:2 O:0 -
Dan Johnson walks.


B:0 S:0 O:0 -
Injury Delay. (Upton bunts and hits him ... no cup hurts!)



B:2 S:3 O:1 -
B. J. Upton called out on .


B:0 S:1 O:1 -
Jason Bartlett singles on a ground ball to shortstop Jhonny Peralta. Dan Johnson to 2nd.


B:2 S:2 O:2 -
John Jaso pops out to third baseman Brandon Inge.


B:2 S:2 O:3 -
Ben Zobrist flies out to right fielder Brennan Boesch.

0-0 after 2.5 innings

Bottom Half

B:1 S:3 O:1 -
Brandon Inge out swinging.


B:2 S:3 O:2 -
Ryan Raburn called out on .


B:2 S:1 O:3 -
Alex Avila flies out to left fielder Carl Crawford.

0-0 after 3 innings

Inning 4
Top Half

B:0 S:0 O:1 -
Carl Crawford lines out to second baseman Carlos Guillen.


B:0 S:1 O:1 -
Evan Longoria singles on a line drive to center fielder Austin Jackson.


B:1 S:0 O:2 -
Matt Joyce grounds out, first baseman Miguel Cabrera to pitcher Max Scherzer. Evan Longoria to 2nd.


B:1 S:0 O:3 -
Willy Aybar pops out to third baseman Brandon Inge.

0-0 after 3.5 innings

boom boom boesch time

Bottom Half

B:3 S:3 O:1 -
Austin Jackson out swinging.


B:3 S:3 O:2 -
Johnny Damon out swinging.


B:2 S:2 O:3 -
Brennan Boesch pops out to third baseman Evan Longoria.

0-0 after 4 innings

Inning 5
Top Half

B:4 S:0 O:0 - Dan Johnson walks.

B:2 S:2 O:1 - B. J. Upton lines out to third baseman Brandon Inge.

B:1 S:2 O:1 - Jason Bartlett doubles (18) on a line drive to left fielder Ryan Raburn. Dan Johnson scores. Fielding error by left fielder Ryan Raburn.

TB 1, DET 0

B:3 S:2 O:2 - John Jaso pops out to third baseman Brandon Inge.

B:2 S:3 O:3 - Ben Zobrist called out on .

TB 1, DET 0 after 4.5 innings

Bottom Half

B:2 S:3 O:1 -
Miguel Cabrera called out on .


B:0 S:1 O:2 -
Carlos Guillen flies out to left fielder Carl Crawford.


B:2 S:2 O:3 -
Jhonny Peralta flies out to center fielder B. Upton.

TB 1, DET 0 after 5 innings

Inning 6
Top Half

B:1 S:1 O:1 -
Carl Crawford flies out to center fielder Austin Jackson.


B:2 S:2 O:2 -
Evan Longoria grounds out, shortstop Jhonny Peralta to first baseman Miguel Cabrera.


B:1 S:0 O:2 - Matt Joyce doubles (10) on a line drive
to right fielder Brennan Boesch. Matt Joyce advances to 3rd, on
fielding error by right fielder Brennan Boesch.


B:1 S:1 O:3 -
Willy Aybar flies out to left fielder Ryan Raburn.

TB 1, DET 0 after 5.5 innings

Bottom Half

B:0 S:2 O:1 -
Brandon Inge flies out to left fielder Carl Crawford.


B:2 S:3 O:2 -
Ryan Raburn out swinging.


B:0 S:0 O:3 -
Alex Avila flies out to left fielder Carl Crawford.

TB 1, DET 0 after 6 innings

Inning 7
Top Half

B:4 S:1 O:0 -
Dan Johnson walks.


B:0 S:0 O:1 - B. J. Upton grounds out, first baseman
Miguel Cabrera to second baseman Carlos Guillen to first baseman Miguel
Cabrera. Dan Johnson to 2nd.


B:0 S:1 O:2 -
Jason Bartlett grounds out, shortstop Jhonny Peralta to first baseman Miguel Cabrera. Dan Johnson to 3rd.


B:1 S:1 O:2 -
With John Jaso batting, wild pitch by Max Scherzer, Dan Johnson scores.

TB 2, DET 0




B:1 S:1 O:3 -
John Jaso grounds out, third baseman Brandon Inge to first baseman Miguel Cabrera.

TB 2, DET 0 after 6.5 innings

the time is now.. go get em tigers!

Bottom Half

B:0 S:2 O:1 -
Austin Jackson grounds out, third baseman Evan Longoria to first baseman Dan Johnson.


B:1 S:2 O:1 -
Johnny Damon singles on a ground ball to right fielder Matt Joyce.


B:0 S:0 O:1 -
Brennan Boesch singles on a ground ball to right fielder Matt Joyce. Johnny Damon to 2nd.


B:0 S:0 O:1 -
Coaching visit to mound.


B:0 S:0 O:3 - Miguel Cabrera grounds into double play,
shortstop Jason Bartlett to second baseman Ben Zobrist to first baseman
Dan Johnson. Brennan Boesch out at 2nd.

grrrr... time to sit Miggy!

TB 2, DET 0 after 7 innings

Inning 8
Top Half

B:0 S:0 O:0 -
Pitcher Change: Phil Coke replaces Max Scherzer.


B:1 S:0 O:1 -
Ben Zobrist flies out to center fielder Austin Jackson.


B:0 S:2 O:1 -
Carl Crawford singles on a ground ball to second baseman Carlos Guillen.


B:1 S:1 O:1 -
Evan Longoria doubles (34) on a line drive to center fielder Austin Jackson. Carl Crawford scores.

TB 3, DET 0




B:0 S:2 O:1 -
Injury Delay.


B:0 S:2 O:1 -
On-field Delay.


B:0 S:3 O:2 -
Matt Joyce out swinging.


B:4 S:2 O:2 -
Willy Aybar walks.


B:0 S:0 O:3 -
Dan Johnson grounds out, second baseman Carlos Guillen to first baseman Miguel Cabrera.

TB 3, DET 0 after 7.5 innings

Bottom Half

B:0 S:0 O:0 -
Pitcher Change: Joaquin Benoit replaces Jeremy Hellickson.


B:1 S:2 O:1 -
Carlos Guillen flies out to left fielder Carl Crawford.


B:0 S:3 O:2 -
Jhonny Peralta out swinging.


B:0 S:3 O:3 -
Brandon Inge out swinging.

TB 3, DET 0 after 8 innings

Inning 9
Top Half

B:0 S:0 O:0 - Pitcher Change: Robbie Weinhardt replaces Phil Coke.


B:0 S:1 O:0 - B. J. Upton singles on a line drive to right fielder Brennan Boesch.


B:1 S:0 O:0 - Jason Bartlett singles on a ground ball to right fielder Brennan Boesch. B. Upton to 3rd.


B:1 S:0 O:0 - John Jaso doubles (14) on a ground ball to left fielder Ryan Raburn. B. Upton scores. Jason Bartlett to 3rd.

TB 4, DET 0


B:2 S:1 O:1 - Ben Zobrist out on a sacrifice fly to left fielder Ryan Raburn. Jason Bartlett scores.

TB 5, DET 0


B:4 S:0 O:1 - Robbie Weinhardt intentionally walks Carl Crawford.


B:2 S:3 O:2 - Evan Longoria out swinging. Passed ball by catcher Alex Avila. John Jaso to 3rd. Carl Crawford to 2nd.


B:4 S:0 O:2 - Robbie Weinhardt intentionally walks Matt Joyce.


B:4 S:2 O:2 - Willy Aybar walks. John Jaso scores. Carl Crawford to 3rd. Matt Joyce to 2nd.

TB 6, DET 0


B:4 S:2 O:2 - Coaching visit to mound.


B:0 S:0 O:2 - Pitcher Change: Enrique Gonzalez replaces Robbie Weinhardt.


B:4 S:0 O:2 - Dan Johnson walks. Carl Crawford scores. Matt Joyce to 3rd. Willy Aybar to 2nd.

TB 7, DET 0


B:1 S:0 O:2 - Coaching visit to mound.


B:4 S:1 O:2 - B. J. Upton walks. Matt Joyce scores. Willy Aybar to 3rd. Dan Johnson to 2nd.

TB 8, DET 0


B:2 S:1 O:3 - Jason Bartlett grounds out, first baseman Miguel Cabrera to pitcher Enrique Gonzalez.

TB 8, DET 0 after 8.5 innings

Bottom Half

B:0 S:0 O:0 -
Pitcher Change: Mike Ekstrom replaces Joaquin Benoit.


B:1 S:3 O:1 -
Ryan Raburn out swinging.


B:1 S:0 O:2 -
Alex Avila flies out to left fielder Carl Crawford in foul territory.


B:1 S:2 O:2 -
Austin Jackson singles on a ground ball to left fielder Carl Crawford.


B:0 S:1 O:3 -
Johnny Damon grounds out, second baseman Ben Zobrist to first baseman Dan Johnson.

TB 8, DET 0 final box score > click here <