Rays 1, Tigers 2: A rainout might have been more fun
Rays drop the early game to start the series.
After a rainy Michigan forecast caused the game to get moved into the afternoon, and actual rain delayed that new start by an hour, things finally got underway in Detroit.
Ryan Pepiot was on the mound for the Rays, up against a stacked lineup of lefties, and Cy Young-conteder Taril Skubal was on the bump for the Tigers. The game got off to a slow start thanks to great efforts from both pitchers.
In the top of the first, the Rays settled for a Jonny DeLuca walk and nothing else. And the Tigers did much the same with a two-out walk from Wenceel Perez.
In the top of the first, base-stealing threat Jose Caballero got a one-out single. He then got caught stealing whilst Ben Rortvedt struck out, to end the inning. The Tigers went 1-2-3 in the home half.
The third inning was 1-2-3 for both sides.
The Rays continued the trend with a three-up, three-down top of the fourth. Wenceel Perez was once again the sole baserunner in the bottom of the inning, with another walk. No runs scored.
In the fifth, Rortvedt got a two-out single, but was left stranded. Onto the Tigers’ side and Trey Sweeney got a one-out walk in the bottom of the inning, then Jake Rogers singled. Parker Meadows then walked on what honestly was a razor-thin margin of a check swing that went in the Tigers’ favor. Wenceel Perez and Eflin had an epic battle for Perez to finally get a ground-rule double and drive in two runs.
The Rays went down in order in the top of the sixth. Pepiot’s day was over after five, giving way to Colin Poche, who got the Tigers out in order.
The seventh was another 1-2-3 for the Rays, and the end of the day for Skubal, and continues his likely journey to win the AL Cy Young. Mason Montgomery was next out of the Rays’ pen and got the Tigers out 1-2-3.
Beau Brieske was in off the Tigers’ bench to replace Skubal, and set the Rays down in order. In the bottom of the inning, the Tigers went down in order.
Brandon Lowe wasn’t going to let the Tigers shut them out as he got a two-out solo home run in the top of the ninth. But Brieske got the final out to clinch the Tigers’ win.
Final: Tigers 2, Rays 1