Rays at Tigers
The Detroit Tigers were expected to run away with their division. The Tampa Bay Rays figured to get more of a challenge. The Rays have broken away from the pack early in the American League East by opening with a three-game sweep of the New York Yankees. The Tigers did Tampa Bay a solid in their first weekend, battling for a dramatic sweep of the Boston Red Sox.
Detroit’s slugging tandem of Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder proved its worth in the first weekend, combining for five home runs and 11 RBIs, while Alex Avila, Austin Jackson and Jhonny Peralta each got off to hot starts. Avila hit a walk-off home run Sunday in the 11th after Cabrera’s three-run blast had forced extra innings. The Rays, who lost six of seven meetings with the Tigers in 2011, have Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria hitting a combined .545 (12-for-22) and are getting strong contributions from Luke Scott and Jeff Keppinger in a new lineup.
TV: 1:05 p.m. ET, SUN (Tampa Bay), FSD (Detroit)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Rays LH Matt Moore (2011: 1-0, 2.89 ERA) vs. Tigers RH Rick Porcello (14-9, 4.75 ERA).
Moore is the consensus top pitching prospect in baseball and showed his stuff in the postseason, when he allowed one run and three hits in 10 total innings against the Texas Rangers. A left-hander who works in the upper-90’s with his fastball, Moore recorded 700 strikeouts in 497 1/3 total minor-league innings.
Porcello, 23, is only six months older than Moore but is entering his fourth season in the Detroit rotation. The New Jersey native had an inconsistent 2011 campaign, with stretches of dominance followed by blowups. He has only made two starts against the Rays in his career, going 1-1 with a 3.46 ERA
WALK-OFFS:
1. Scott left Sunday’s game with tightness in his left hamstring and expects to be out a few days.
2. Rays CF B.J. Upton (lower back) began a 10-day rehab assignment at Class A Charlotte on Monday.
3. Cabrera is batting .263 in 54 career games against Tampa Bay - his second-lowest mark against an AL opponent.