Rays Stay Quiet, Niemann Goes Only Five

Jeff Niemann pitched "meh" today in his season debut. He lasted only 5.0 innings with 102 pitches. He racked up six strikeouts and allowed 3 runs on four hits. Enter the bullpen.

J.P. Howell pitched a quiet sixth, and former starting pitcher Wade Davis got the nod in the seventh. Davis gave up two singles then put two men out and Joe Maddon made another call for Jake McGee. Detroit's second man in the line up, Brenna Boesch, then plated both runners before McGee got the final out of the inning.

Boesch had plated two runners earlier in the game off Niemann during a three run fifth frame. Up until this point, the Rays offense consisted of a Carlos Pena homerun (off a lefty!) and an RBI single from Evan Longoria in the seventh.

The Rays had a little action in the eighh with men on the corners (Elliot Johnson and Jose Molina on first and third) but Matt Joyce went down swinging and Desmond Jennings grounded out. From there Joel Peralta let the Tigers go wild with a Prince Fielder single, (a Delmon Young punch out), an Alex Avila triple, and then wild pitched Avila home. Detroit took a 7-2 lead and wouldn't let go.

All in all, outside of a crazy ninth inning against Justin Verlander, the Rays were not getting much done. They had only two runs of offense to back up starters Matt Moore and Jeff Niemann. The next stop is hitter friendly Fenway Park for a four game series in Boston.

Jeff Niemann Makes His Season Debut In Detroit

No. 5 pitcher Jeff Niemann takes the mound in his season debut against the Detroit Tigers (4-1).

The Rays (4-1) offense has come alive this year. Barely a week into the season, the Rays are 3rd in on base percentage and 4th in batting average. Tampa Bay swept the Yankees by a margin of 3 runs in each game, and then ran Justin Verlander off the field yesterday in the ninth inning.

Pitching for Detroit in his professional debut: Drew Smyly. In 2011, he split the year between A+ and AA with a 2.07 ERA in 22 games. In the low minors he allowed 7.4 hits and 2.6 walks per nine innings of work, along with 9.3 strikeouts per nine. He made one AAA appearance before today's start, allowing 3 hits and 3 runs in 1.2 innings.

The Rays lineup:

Jennings CF
Pena 1B
Longoria 3B
Keppinger DH
Zobrist RF
Rodriguez SS
Lobaton C
Johnson 2B
Joyce LF

Jeff Keppinger and Elliot Johnson get starting nods today after both players pushed the Rays to victory in appearances of the bench yesterday. Back up catcher Jose Lobaton will also return after earning two walks.

The Rays have slotted Matt Joyce in the nine hole, which I personally prefer to see him in. His speed is a top tool, though he seldom uses it on the pads in terms of stealing bases (or as my dad likes to call them, easy outs). With the top of the order following in the line up, we could see him notch a few runs today.

Yesterday the Rays saw Fernando Rodney save his third game of the season, and having thrown a mere 35 pitches this season, he's starting to turn heads. It's unlikely we see him today with Joel Peralta well rested, as the Rays have a four game series in Boston starting Friday.

Niemann was leapfrogged yesterday to give James Shields a chance to square off against Justin Verlander, and set the Rays up for their top four pitchers to make their starts in Fenway Park.

Game Time: 1:05 PM, Comerica Park
Pitchers: Jeff Niemann Vs. Drew Smyly
Broadcast: Sun Sports, 620 WDAE

For more Rays news and analysis, check out our Rays affiliate DRaysBay. Today, staff writer Jason Collette looked at how the Rays have altered Fernando Rodney's approach to turn him into the dominant reliever he never was before.

Rays Vs. Tigers: Rays Rally Against Verlander, Tigers In 4-2 Win

The Rays rallied late against Justin Verlander and the Detroit Tigers this afternoon!

On a day that could have been gloomy turned out to be sunny and bright for the Rays. Until the ninth inning, only Ben Zobrist (hit) and Jose Lobaton (walk) had made it on base.

TOP OF THE NINTH

Joe Maddon started the inning pinch hitting Jeff Keppinger for Sean Rodriguez against a tired Justin Verlander. Keppinger singled to center, Reid Brignac struck out, and Desmond Jennings singled to right field to move Kepp to third and put runners on the corners for Carlos Pena.

This is when Verlander fell apart. Despite his eight inning, one hit performance, the Detroit ace's control disappeared against The Los:

via www.brooksbaseball.net

If you're wondering where pitches 2, 4, 5 and 6 are, that's how badly Verlander was missing. Pitch 6 (actually visible at the bottom of the screen) walked Pena but skipped away from catcher Alex Avila and allowed Keppinger to score, cutting Detroit's lead to one run. Next up? Evan Longoria, with runners on first and second.

Now, if you were wondering what happens when you don't have a defensive third baseman, choppers in the dirt bounce into left field and you blow the lead in the ninth. Just ask the Tigers about Miguel Cabrera (VIDEO). Desmond Jennings scored on the Longoria single to tie the game 2-2.

The Tigers tried to match up lefty Dan Schlereth against lefty Matt Joyce, but Joe Maddon dropped in Elliot Johnson and his great vision to pull off a walk and load the bases. Desperate, the Tigers turned to their closer Jose Valverde, but he couldn't stop Ben Zobrist from singling to right field, plating Pena and Longo and giving the Rays their 4-2 lead!

From there: Stephen Vogt popped out, Jose Lobaton walked (again), and Keppinger grounded out to end the inning.

BOTTOM OF THE NINTH

The Rays turned again to Fernando Rodney to save the game, with 3-4-5 in the order due up. He made quick work of Miguel Cabrera, thanks to Elliot Johnson's perfect defensive position in left field, and got Prince Fielder (who may or may not have the same beard as Rodney) to foul out along the third base line. Jhonny Peralta flew out to center, and the Rays won the game!

Pitching Notes:

• In five games this season, Rodney has made four appearances for the Rays with 3 saves and 1 win. Fantasy Leagues, watch out!
• James Shields went eight innings with 5 strikeouts and six hits for two earned runs. A decent appearance from Fuego G against a stacked Detroit lineup.
• Justin Verlander nearly 1-hit the Rays until the ninth inning, where the wheels fell off. Even still, the 2011 MPV has had a great performance after two starts this season: 16.1 IP, 14 K, 3 BB, 0.55 WHIP, 2.20 ERA
• Verlander and Shields both balked in the third inning... what were the odds of that happening?

Reid Brignac: There Is Hope Yet For The Rays Shortstop

The young Rays infielder Reid Brignac has shown some promise lately, but he still has a lot to prove.

Jeremy Hellickson Injury: Rays Pitcher Taken To Hospital After Being Hit In The Head

During batting practice for the Detroit Tigers ahead of Wednesday afternoon's game, Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Jeremy Hellickson was hit in the head with a home run ball. Hellickson was taken to the hospital according to a tweet from Tampa Bay Times writer Marc Topkin.

Hellickson hit on head by ball, taken to hospital: Rays pitcher Jeremy Hellickson was hit on the head by a home ... bit.ly/IC8Wjr

— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) April 11, 2012

Hellickson was throwing a between starts bullpen session when he went down. According to Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon, Hellickson was not bleeding and did not lose consciousness from the impact. He was taken to a nearby hospital for observation and is expected to be okay.

Wednesday's game is scheduled to begin at 1:05 p.m. at Comerica Park in Detroit.

For more about Wednesday's game, stay subscribed to this StoryStream. Read more about the Rays at DRaysBay.

Rays Vs Tigers: James Shields, Justin Verlander Face Off

The Rays were served their first loss of the season yesterday. Matt Moore's first official start of his rookie year was ruined by snow flurries and a lack of Fernando Rodney or Kyle Farnsworth out of the pen. (The latter is on the DL)

Today, the Rays leap frog the fifth man in the rotation (Jeff Niemann) to match up their war horse James Shields, aka Big Game Shields, aka FuegoG, against Detroit's ace. The marquee match up will again be a day game - and hopefully a bit warmer. According to Rays beat writer Marc Topkin, the sun has been shining all day. For the sake of our Florida boys, let's hope it's at least 50 degrees.

Designated Hitter Luke Scott will sit out today, as he did yesterday with a sore hamstring. The cold isn't too kind to such injuries, and since it isn't his recently repaired shoulder that's bugging him, there's no reason to panic. In his stead, rookie Stephen Vogt will get the nod.

The Rays will face Justin Verlander, who got a no decision in his first start of the season when Jose Valverde blew the save against the Red Sox. The Tigers still won, and Verlander recorded 7 strikeouts with no runs allowed.

The Rays lineup:

Jennings CF
Pena 1B
Longoria 3B
Joyce LF
Zobrist RF
Vogt DH
Lobaton C
Rodriguez 2B
Brignac SS

The nod to Birgnac comes off his second start of the season yesterday, in which he got a hit and scored a run. Placed ninth in the order could be a vote of confidence from Joe Maddon in either Brignac's ability to get on base ahead of the top of the order, or his ability to move S-Rod around the base pads. Let's hope for both against last year's American League MVP.

Game Time: 1:05 PM
Match up: James Shields vs. Justin Verlander
Broadcast: SunSports, 620 WDAE

Rays Vs. Tigers: Detroit Hands Tampa Bay First Loss Of Season, 5-2

Tampa Bay Rays lose to the Detroit Tigers after an eight-inning rally by Detroit.