GDT: 4/10/12 - DET (3-0) VS TB (3-0) - 1:05 p.m. ET 
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Detroit Tigers VS Tampa Bay RaysTuesday, April 10, 2012
Comerica Park, Detroit, MI
Game Time - 1:05 p.m. EDT ______________________________________
Preview Rays hit Detroit for battle of unbeaten titansBy Joey Nowak / MLB.com | 4/8/2012 7:15 PM ET
The Tigers disposed of one American League East heavyweight to start the season. Now, the Rays get a crack at the defending AL Central champions.
The series, pitting two potential playoff teams against each other, opens on Tuesday afternoon at Comerica Park in Detroit. The visiting Rays made a statement by sweeping the defending AL East champion Yankees over the weekend, while the Tigers did the same to the Red Sox in Detroit. Both teams have Monday off.
Tuesday's game will feature two young hurlers, most notably Matt Moore, the 22-year-old left-handed phenom who rose quickly through the Rays' farm system as MLB.com's top prospect.
"I'm excited," Moore said. "My arm feels good. My last couple of outings, I had a lot better feel for all my stuff, so I'm feeling pretty confident."
Rick Porcello, at 23, knows a thing or two himself about working in a big league rotation at a young age. The Tigers right-hander is 38-30 in his career with Detroit since debuting in 2009.
The Tigers won six of the seven meetings between the two clubs last year, outscoring the Rays, 26-16, in the season series.
"I thought that defined our whole year," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said of the August set at St. Petersburg in which Detroit won three of four. "I thought that won the Central Division for us. We didn't score many runs, but we won three out of four, I believe.
"That can be a hornets' nest. I said it all along, I think that was the series that turned our season around."
Moore said he's been able to make adjustments from the short time he spent in the Majors last season -- going 1-0 with a 2.89 ERA in 9 1/3 innings -- and manager Joe Maddon expects the lefty to be composed against Detroit's fierce lineup.
"I expect Matt to go out and pitch well," Maddon said. "He's not going to back down from anybody. His stuff pitches against the best, regardless. It'll be an interesting first start. They're pretty good. I don't think that's going to bother him."
Tigers: Power at the core• Prince Fielder and Miguel Cabrera -- who combined for five homers in Detroit's season-opening series against the Red Sox -- are among the Major League leaders in home runs and RBIs since the start of the 2006 season. Entering Sunday, Fielder was third in the big leagues with 230 homers during that time, while Cabrera was tied for sixth with 201.
Cabrera was third in the Majors with 697 RBIs in that span, while Fielder was sixth with 649. They combined for five hits (one homer), five runs and five RBIs on Sunday.
• Gerald Laird is tentatively scheduled to make his first start of the season behind the plate on Tuesday, with Alex Avila likely getting a day off after catching all three games of the Boston series.
Rays: Pena swinging hot bat• Carlos Pena's return to Tampa Bay this year has been a triumphant one thus far, as the slugger is hitting .500 (6-for-12) with two homers and seven RBIs entering Tuesday. Pena, who spent last season with the Cubs after playing the previous four seasons for the Rays, homered in the series opener and finale, and he logged five RBIs on Opening Day.
• Moore struck out 15 in 9 1/3 innings last season, walking just three.
• The Rays are 3-0 for just the second time in franchise history. The first was in 2002, though the club went on to lose a club-record 106 games that season.
Worth noting• Porcello was 2-0 with a 1.59 ERA in four Grapefruit League starts for Detroit. He allowed three earned runs in 17 innings.
• The Tigers are 156-90 at Comerica Park since the beginning of the 2009 season, a .634 winning percentage. Detroit trails only the Yankees (.663) in winning percentage among Major League clubs during that span.
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Pitching matchup
Tigers: RHP Rick Porcello (0-0, 0.00 ERA)The Tigers are hoping for great things out of Porcello, whose bump in velocity and improvement in swings and misses in Spring Training rewarded him for an early-offseason workout program. He'll be starting his fourth Major League season at just 23.
Rays: LHP Matt Moore (0-0, 0.00 ERA)Moore experienced a meteoric rise through the Rays farm system before bursting onto the Major League scene in September, culminating with the Rays' only postseason win. The 22-year-old is ranked as MLB.com's top prospect.
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Tiger's MLB Game Notes
RECENT RESULTS: The Tigers rallied from multiple deficits to defeat the Red Sox 13-12 in 11 innings on Sunday. Alex Avila belted a walk-off home run to lead Detroit to the win. Miguel Cabrera finished with three hits, including a home run, and five RBI, while Austin Jackson collected four hits for the Tigers. Detroit’s season-opening homestand continues with the first game of a three-game series versus the Tampa Bay Rays this afternoon. Following Thursday afternoon’s game, the Tigers hit the road for the first trip of the season to Chicago and Kansas City.
HAPPY AT HOME: The Tigers have compiled a 156-90 record at Comerica Park since the beginning of the 2009 season, a .634 winning percentage. Detroit is second among all major league clubs with a .634 winning percentage at home during that stretch, trailing a .663 winning percentage at home by the New York Yankees.
TIGERS LOOK FOR FOURTH STRAIGHT WIN: The Tigers completed a three-game sweep of the Red Sox to open the season and the club looks for its fourth straight win to begin 2012 today versus Tampa Bay. Detroit’s three straight wins to begin the season is the longest such streak by the club since it won the first five games of the 2006 season.
WINNING WAYS OVER THE RAYS: The Tigers enter this afternoon’s game versus the Rays having won seven of the club’s last eight games over Tampa Bay dating back to August 11, 2010. During the eight-game stretch, Tigers pitchers have compiled a 2.08 ERA (73.2IP/17ER) against the Rays.
CABRERA EARNS AMERICAN LEAGUE HONORS: Miguel Cabrera has been named the American League Player of the Week for April 5-8. In three games during that stretch, he hit .455 (5x11) with five runs scored, three home runs and eight RBI. It marks the fifth time Cabrera has been selected the American League Player of the Week.
AVILA BELTS WALK-OFF HOME RUN: Alex Avila connected for the first walk-off home run of his career to lead Detroit to a 13-12 win over Boston in 11 innings on Sunday. His walk-off home run came with the Tigers trailing 12-11 and it marked the first time a Tigers player belted a walk-off home run with the club trailing in extra innings since Damion Easley hit a two-run home run in the 10th inning off Minnesota’s Rick Aguilera on September 19, 1998 to lead the Tigers to an 8-7 win. (Source: ESPN Stats & Information)
TIGERS RALLY TWICE FOR A WIN: Miguel Cabrera belted a three-run home run in the ninth inning for the Tigers to tie the game on Sunday afternoon and Alex Avila’s two-run home run in the 11th inning capped Detroit’s three-run rally to lead the club to a 13-12 win over the Red Sox. It was only the second time in Detroit’s 112-year history the club won by erasing multiple-run deficits in the ninth inning and again in extra innings. Prior to Sunday, the Tigers had accomplished the feat with an 11-10 victory over the White Sox on September 28, 1929 at Navin Field. (Source: Elias Sports Bureau)
MUTLI-RBI MIGGY: After collecting three RBI on Saturday versus Boston, Miguel Cabrera followed that effort up with five RBI on Sunday. Cabrera is the second Tigers player since at least 1918 to have two games with three-or-more RBI in the club’s first three games of the season. Nate Colbert accomplished the feat for the Tigers in the second and third games of the 1975 season, doing so against New York at Yankee Stadium on April 11-12.
CABRERA’S RACKING UP THE RBI: Miguel Cabrera is the first Tigers player since at least 1920 to collect eight RBI in Detroit’s first three games of the season.
CABRERA, FIELDER FORM POWERFUL COMBO: Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder areamong the leaders in the major leagues in home runs and RBI since the start of the 2006 season. Fielder is third in the major leagues with 230 home runs during that stretch, while Cabrera is sixth with 202 home runs. Cabrera is third in the major leagues with 702 RBI since the start of the 2006 season, while Fielder is sixth with 649 RBI.
INJURY UPDATE:•
RHP Doug Fister (left costochondral strain,
15-day disabled list on April 7),
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INF Brandon Inge (left groin strain,
15-day disabled list on March 30),
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RHP Luis Marte (strained left hamstring,
15-day disabled list on April 4).
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RHP Al Alburquerque (right elbow surgery,
15-day disabled list on April 4).
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C Victor Martinez (left knee surgery,
60-day disabled list on March 12).
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XM Channel Schedule______________________________________
Up next (Probable Pitchers) (RHP
Justin Verlander (0-0, 0.00 ERA))
VS Rays (RHP
James Shields (0-0, 10.80 ERA)),
1:05 p.m. ET (FS-D HD, / WXYT 97.1 FM)• THURSDAY, April 12: Tigers (LHP
Drew Smyly (0-0, 0.00 ERA))
VS Rays (RHP
Jeff Niemann (0-0, 0.00 ERA)),
1:05 p.m. ET (FS-D HD, / WXYT 97.1 FM)______________________________________
Mon Apr 09, 2012 1:05 am
out swinging.
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