GDT: 4/12/12 - DET (4-1) VS TB (4-1) - 1:05 p.m. ET 
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Detroit Tigers VS Tampa Bay RaysThursday, April 12, 2012
Comerica Park, Detroit, MI
Game Time - 1:05 p.m. EDT ______________________________________
Preview Smyly jumps to bigs opposite established rightyRays' Niemann set for 2012 debut with series vs. Tigers on the lineBy Adam Berry / MLB.com | 4/11/2012 5:26 PM ET
From the moment Spring Training began, Drew Smyly wanted to prove what he was capable of doing on a Major League mound. For Rays right-hander Jeff Niemann, it was more about reminding the Rays what he can do.
Both pitchers won a role in their respective rotations, and they'll make their 2012 debuts Thursday afternoon at Comerica Park in the series finale between the Tigers and Rays.
Smyly, making his Major League debut, earned a spot as Detroit's fifth starter despite not being on the 40-man roster and having the least experience in pro ball. He had a 7-3 record with a 2.45 ERA in 14 starts for Class A Lakeland last season, then went on to post a 4-3 record and 1.18 ERA in eight appearances (seven starts) for Double-A Erie.
His only outing above the Double-A level came with Triple-A Toledo in a tuneup start Sunday, when he yielded three earned runs over 1 1/3 innings. But he recorded a 4.00 ERA over five spring appearances and pitched well enough to earn his spot in the Tigers' Opening Day rotation.
"I wouldn't say [I was] confident that I would be the guy," Smyly said last week, "but I was definitely confident that I could show them that I was capable of being the guy. And then it was up to them to pick who they wanted to be up there."
Niemann, meanwhile, beat out fellow right-hander Wade Davis for his spot. There's no doubt Niemann is capable of being a dominant starter when he's at his peak, as he's shown over three seasons in Tampa Bay's rotation. He posted an 11-7 record, 4.06 ERA and 1.24 WHIP in 23 starts last season, posting the best strikeout-to-walk ratio of his career.
With Davis and several top pitching prospects waiting in the wings, Niemann is eager to prove that he deserves to keep the spot he earned this spring. But he'll face a tough first test in Detroit's loaded lineup.
"I'm anxious to go out there and get the first one under my belt. Keep on rolling," Niemann said. "They've got some guys in the middle there that can obviously do some damage. And the rest of their hitters are pretty solid. I just have to go out there and make my pitches."
Niemann was slowed by a blister on his right middle finger toward the end of Spring Training, but he said Wednesday that it won't affect him heading into his first start. If anything, Niemann said, it will help that he's pitching in the chillier Detroit weather.
"It's normal. ... I think being in the cold is actually going to help, because I won't get as sweaty," he said. "It's not going to create the softness in the skin, so it's going to be dry. Everything should be OK."
Rays: Hellickson OK after being hit in head• Jeremy Hellickson was hit in the head in the Rays' bullpen during Tigers' batting practice Wednesday morning at Comerica Park, but the right-hander returned to the visitors' clubhouse by the end of the game and said he felt fine after undergoing tests at a local hospital.
Hellickson remained conscious, wasn't bleeding and was responsive to questions after being struck just above his left eyebrow. He said after Wednesday's game that he plans to make his scheduled start Saturday at Fenway Park.
"He could have walked off," pitching coach Jim Hickey said. "He was coherent and never lost consciousness."
• Fernando Rodney recorded his third save of the season in Wednesday's 4-2 comeback win, throwing a perfect ninth inning and sitting down the heart of the Tigers' lineup. Rodney also picked up a win in last Friday's season opener.
Manager Joe Maddon has declined to name a closer, and he didn't officially give the title to Kyle Farnsworth after he saved 25 games last year. But Rodney, who signed with the Rays this offseason, has filled Farnsworth's shoes surprisingly well, finishing off all four of Tampa Bay's wins.
Tigers: Martinez could return by end of season• Victor Martinez's scheduled reconstructive surgery on his torn ACL was called off, and the Tigers slugger instead underwent a more minor procedure to help the healing process, meaning Martinez might be back on the field at some point this year.
Martinez previously underwent microfracture surgery on the knee in January to repair some of the damage, but the reconstructive surgery was canceled because the doctor found that Martinez's knee had already healed to the point where he no longer required the operation.
"We'll know more in July when we do an MRI on [the knee]," head athletic trainer Kevin Rand said Wednesday morning. "It is a better-case scenario. If he had to have the ACL reconstruction, he would have definitely been done for the season. This gives him a chance. When we evaluate the MRI in July, there may be a chance."
• Brandon Inge will continue his rehab assignment with Triple-A Toledo on Wednesday and Thursday by starting at second base at home against Louisville. Inge went 1-for-3 with one walk and a strikeout as the Mud Hens' designated hitter.
Worth noting• Despite Wednesday's loss, the Tigers have still won eight of their last 10 matchups with the Rays.
• The Rays already have two ninth-inning comebacks this season -- Friday night against the Yankees and Wednesday against the Tigers. Perhaps even more impressively, they have come against Mariano Rivera and Justin Verlander.
Tigers: LHP Drew Smyly (0-0, 0.00 ERA)Two years after Smyly was making his name around the SEC circuit at Arkansas, and a year after beginning his pro career, Smyly makes his Major League debut. He beat out a handful of candidates for Detroit's fifth-starter job out of Spring Training.
Rays: RHP Jeff Niemann (0-0, 0.00 ERA)Niemann can be dominating, as evidenced by the streak of 10 starts without a loss that he put together last season. The 6-foot-9 right-hander is 1-2 with a 3.48 ERA in five career appearances against the Tigers.
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Tiger's MLB Game Notes
RECENT RESULTS: The Tigers suffered a 4-2 loss to the Rays yesterday afternoon, snapping the club’s four-game winning streak to begin the 2012 season. Justin Verlander (0-1) took the loss for Detroit after allowing four runs in 8.1 innings of work. Miguel Cabrera led the Tigers with two hits and an RBI, while Andy Dirks added a double. Detroit’s season-opening homestand concludes with the final game of a three-game series versus the Rays this afternoon. Following this afternoon’s game, the Tigers hit the road for the first trip of the season to Chicago and Kansas City.
SMYLY’S CONTRACT PURCHASED, THOMAS DESIGNATED FOR ASSIGNMENT: The Tigers today have purchased the contract of lefthanded pitcher Drew Smyly from Triple A Toledo. Smyly is scheduled to make his major league debut this afternoon versus the Rays. To create room on the club’s 25-man roster, the Tigers have designated the contract of outfielder Clete Thomas for assignment. Thomas appeared in three games with the Tigers in 2012 after making the club’s Opening Day roster out of Spring Training.
HAPPY AT HOME: The Tigers have compiled a 157-91 record at Comerica Park since the beginning of the 2009 season, a .633 winning percentage. Detroit is second among all major league clubs with a .633 winning percentage at home during that stretch, trailing a .663 winning percentage at home by the New York Yankees.
WINNING WAYS OVER THE RAYS: The Tigers enter this afternoon’s game having won eight of the club’s last 10 games over Tampa Bay dating back to August 11, 2010. During the stretch, Tigers pitchers have compiled a 2.26 ERA (91.2IP/23ER) against the Rays.
JACKSON RACKING UP THE RUNS SCORED: Austin Jackson has scored a run in each of Detroit’s first five games of the season, marking the longest such streak by a Tigers player to begin the season since Travis Fryman also did so in five games April 1-5, 1997. Darrell Evans was the last Tigers player to score a run in more than five straight games to begin the season, doing so in eight straight games April 7-17, 1986.
MIGGY HEADED TOWARDS 1,000 RBI: Miguel Cabrera enters this afternoon’s game versus Tampa Bay with 993 RBI during his major league career, seven RBI shy of 1,000 in his career. He would become the 21st active major league player with at least 1,000 RBI.
CABRERA, FIELDER FORM POWERFUL COMBO: Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder are among 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 703 RBI since the start of the 2006 season, while Fielder is sixth with 650 RBI.
DOTEL CLOSING IN ON HIS 700TH APPEARANCE: Octavio Dotel enters today’s game versus the Rays having appeared in 697 games during his major league career, three appearances shy of 700 in his career. He would become the 93rd pitcher in major league history to appear in at least 700 games.
INGE ON INJURY REHAB ASSIGNMENT WITH TRIPLE A TOLEDO: Brandon Inge was assigned to Triple A Toledo to begin an injury rehabilitation assignment on Monday. In two games with the Mud Hens, he is hitting .167 (1x6) with a run scored and walk. Inge has been sidelined since March 30 with a left groin strain.
TIGERS EXTEND PLAYER DEVELOPMENT CONTRACT WITH ERIE: The Tigers today announced the team has extended the club’s player development contract with Double A Erie for two years through the 2014 season.
INJURY UPDATE:•
RHP Al Alburquerque (right elbow surgery,
15-day disabled list on April 4).
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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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C Victor Martinez (left knee surgery,
60-day disabled list on March 12).
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Up next (Probable Pitchers) (RHP
Max Scherzer (0-0, 23.62 ERA))
AT White Sox (RHP
Jake Peavy (0-0, 4.50 ERA)),
2:10 p.m. ET (FS-D HD, / WXYT 97.1 FM)• SATURDAY, April 14: Tigers (LHP
Adam Wilk (0-0, 0.00 ERA))
AT White Sox (RHP
Gavin Floyd (0-1, 6.35 ERA)),
4:10 p.m. ET (FS-D HD, / WXYT 97.1 FM)• SUNDAY, April 15: Tigers (RHP
Rick Porcello (0-0, 2.57 ERA))
AT White Sox (LHP
Chris Sale (1-0, 1.35 ERA)),
2:10 p.m. ET (FS-D HD, / WXYT 97.1 FM)• MONDAY, April 16: Tigers (RHP
Justin Verlander (0-1, 2.20 ERA))
AT Royals (LHP
Danny Duffy (1-0, 0.00 ERA)),
8:10 p.m. ET (FS-D HD, / WXYT 97.1 FM)______________________________________
Wed Apr 11, 2012 10:13 pm
out swinging.
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