Miguel Cabrera celebrated his 34th birthday on Tuesday night.
On Tuesday, the Tampa Bay Rays returned home from a seven-game road trip. A road trip that was not very kind to them – winners in just one game. The Detroit Tigers entered the day victorious in seven-of-the-last-ten games.
Michael Fulmer won the AL Rookie of the Year last year and it was partly due to how well he pitched against the Rays. In his two starts (2-0; 0.64), the Rays only accumulated six hits.
Fulmer has only allowed 3 hits to players currently on #RAys roster. Last season 21K in 14IP #Tigers
— The Scrum Sports (@TheScrumSports) April 18, 2017
Matt Andriese got the call for Tampa Bay, and he continued to show signs of improvement. He allowed only four hits in six-plus innings pitched, striking out five. His strike% was quite impressive as well, 105 pitches, 65 of which were strikes.
The one blemish on the night for Andriese?
A birthday present to Cabrera – an absolutely mammoth birthday present!
It’s your birthday? Treat yo self. pic.twitter.com/LD3PYPBntH
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) April 18, 2017
Bend it like Beckham
The Rays had held leads in each of their last four games, but managed to win just one of those games. Entering the sixth inning, the situation was similar – Rays led the Tigers 2-1. Those two runs came courtesy of this Tim Beckham home run.
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— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) April 19, 2017
Holding down the Fort Trop
The Rays were able to muster just as many hits off of Fulmer as they had in 21 previous innings. Fulmer gave up three runs in his six innings of work, walking two, and striking out five.
It was the success of the Rays bullpen that allowed them to snap their three-game losing streak.
Danny Farquhar (0.2 IP), Tommy Hunter (0.1 IP), and Jumbo Diaz (1.0 IP) came on in relief of Andriese. That combination of arms kept the Tigers hit-less, while the Rays offense got it going. Diaz has not been scored upon in seven-of-his-eight appearances.
When I mentioned it to him after the game he had this to say…
“I feel pretty good right now, take the the ball and attack the hitter, then I can use my slider”
He also had praise for his bullpen mates…
“We got a very good bullpen, everybody’s on the same page…when we got the ball we have to go out there and eat some innings…help the guy who’s starting the game”
RBI’s by Derek Norris, Kevin Kiermaier, and Brad Miller gave the Rays a four-run lead before Alex Colome came on in the ninth. Having retired his last 10 batters faced, Colome showed his mettle by setting down Cabrera, Victor Martinez, and Justin Upton, in order.
Cabrera may have been celebrating a birthday, but it was the Rays celebrating a win.
W: Matt Andriese (1-0; 3.38)
L: Michael Fulmer (1-1; 3.00)
Postgame Notes:
“He’s one of the greatest hitters in the game” – Matt Andriese when speaking about the home run he allowed to Cabrera.
Manager Kevin Cash fully understands how difficult it can be to win games. When asked how he felt about his team beating the reigning AL Cy Young winner, Rick Porcello, and Rookie of the Year, Michael Fulmer he joked…”Well, it says that there’s a lot of good pitching in the league, obviously”
Up Next:
Chris Archer gets the call opposite Jordan Zimmerman on Wednesday night. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10.
Don’t forget, you can purchase half-price Lower Corner and Upper Level tickets as part of Ballpark App Wednesdays. Tickets must be purchased through the MLB.com Ballpark App.
