Rays rookie Jeremy Hellickson pitched seven scoreless innings Tuesday night against the Tigers as the Rays won 8-0.
Hellickson followed up his three hit, two run debut against Minnesota with an even more impressive performance on Tuesday, giving up three hits and no walks while striking out seven. After a lead off single by Austin Jackson, Hellickson retired the next 18 Tigers in a row.
The Rays gave him all the support he would need in the fifth inning. Dan Johnson got things started with a walk and, after B.J. Upton lined out, Jason Bartlett doubled to left. Ryan Raburn failed to field the ball cleanly, which allowed Johnson to score.
Tampa Bay added another run in the seventh. Johnson walked, moved to second and third on a pair of groundouts, and crossed the plate on Scherzer’s wild pitch.
Johnson walked four times, scored twice, and knocked in a run for the Rays, who have won two in a row since a five-game skid. Willy Aybar, Ben Zobrist, John Jaso, Evan Longoria, and Upton each had an RBI.
But the story of the night was Jeremy Hellickson. “I wasn’t nervous at all this game,” Hellickson said. “Last game, I had a little bit of nerve going.”
What’s going to happen when he relaxes and gets downright comfortable?