DETROIT TIGERS NOTES:
TIGERS DROP SECOND STRAIGHT TO RAYS: The Tigers lost to the Rays, 12-2, on Saturday afternoon at Tropicana Field. Kerry Carpenter hit a pair of doubles and scored two runs, while Miguel Cabrera went 1×3 with a RBI and a walk. Spencer Turnbull took the loss in his return to the Majors, allowing seven runs on eight hits with three walks and three strikeouts in 2.1 innings. José Cisnero walked one and struck out one in a scoreless inning.
MOVIN’ ON UP: Miguel Cabrera continued his climb up the all-time hits list yesterday, going 1×3 with a RBI. The hit was the 3,090th of his Major League career, passing Ichiro Suzuki for 23rd in MLB history. Dave Winfield is next up on the list, ranking 22nd with 3,110 career hits.
TYLER THE RELIEVER: Tyler Alexander made his season debut on Saturday, tossing 3.1 innings and allowing two runs on two hits with no walks and seven strikeouts. With the performance, he became the ninth Tigers reliever since 1901 to have seven-or-more strikeouts without issuing a
walk and the first since Drew Smyly on April 20, 2013 at Los Angeles (AL). Alexander continues to showcase his strike-throwing ability. Since
making his debut on July 3, 2019, he leads all active American League pitchers (min. 300 IP) in fewest walks allowed (69), while he ranks sixth in walk rate (5.4%).
NOTES ON THE SEASON OPENING ROSTER: Information about Detroit’s 26-man, season-opening roster:
- The roster consists of 13 pitchers (Tyler Alexander, Matthew Boyd, José Cisnero, Mason Englert, Jason Foley, Garrett Hill, Alex Lange, Matt Manning, Eduardo Rodriguez, Chasen Shreve, Spencer Turnbull, Joey Wentz, Trey Wingenter and 13 position players (Javier Báez, Miguel Cabrera, Kerry Carpenter, Riley Greene, Eric Haase, Ryan Kreidler, Nick Maton, Zach McKinstry, Austin Meadows, Jake Rogers, Jonathan Schoop, Spencer Torkelson, Matt Vierling)
- 8 are on an Opening Day roster at the Major League level for the first time (Carpenter, Englert, Greene, Hill, Kreidler, Maton, Rogers, Wentz)
- 9 were not active with the team in 2022 (Boyd, Englert, Maton, McKinstry, Rogers, Shreve, Turnbull, Vierling, Wingenter)
- 15 have less than three years of Major League service (Carpenter, Englert, Foley, Greene, Haase, Hill, Kreidler, Lange, Manning, Maton,
McKinstry, Rogers, Torkelson, Vierling, Wentz - 6 have five-or-more years of Major League service (Báez, Boyd, Cabrera, Cisnero, Rodriguez, Schoop
- 4 have been selected All-Stars (Báez, Cabrera, Meadows, Schoop)
TIGERS AND RAYS: The Tigers and Rays conclude their first series of the season this afternoon. The two teams will also play a three-game series at Comerica Park from August 4-6. Tampa Bay won five of the seven meetings from Detroit last season, including two of the three games
at Tropicana Field. The all-time series has been evenly contested with the Rays holding an 87-84 edge, including a 47-40 advantage at Tropicana Field.
ON DECK: The Tigers continue their season-opening road trip tomorrow as they begin a three-game series against the Astros. Houston won all seven games against Detroit last season, including sweeping a four-game series at Minute Maid Park.
INJURY REHAB UPDATE: Tyler Nevin continued an injury rehab assignment with Triple A Toledo yesterday, starting at designated hitter and going
1×3 with a solo home run. Nevin is currently on the injured list with a left oblique strain.
TIGERS ON THE IL:
• RHP Beau Brieske (right upper arm discomfort, 15-day IL on March 30, retroactive to March 27)
• RHP Michael Lorenzen (left groin strain, 15- day IL on March 30, retroactive to March 27)
• RHP Casey Mize (right elbow sprain, 60-day IL on February 17)
• INF Tyler Nevin (left oblique strain, 10-day IL on March 30, retroactive to March 27)
• RHP Freddy Pacheco (right elbow sprain, 60- day IL on March 27)
• LHP Tarik Skubal (left elbow strain, 60-day IL on March 14)
TODAY’S TIGERS STARTING PITCHER
Joey Wentz • 0-0, 0.00 ERA (0IP/0ER)
• Wentz will make his season debut for the Tigers today in the series finale against the Rays…he was on an Opening Day roster at the Major League level for the first time in his career.
• Pitched in five games, including three as a starter, during Spring Training and had an 0-2 record with a 7.98 ERA (14.2IP/13ER) and 19 strikeouts.
• Will be making his first appearance against the Rays this afternoon.
• Saw his first Major League action in 2022, starting seven games and posting a 2-2 record with a 3.03 ERA (32.2IP/11ER) and 27 strikeouts…also appeared in 12 games, including 11 starts, with triple A Toledo and went 2-2 with a 3.17 ERA (48.1IP/17ER) and 53 strikeouts.
• Pitched in the Arizona Fall League following the season and made three starts for Salt River, throwing 12.0 scoreless innings with two hits allowed, four walks and 14 strikeouts.
TAMPA BAY RAYS NOTES:
RAYS HALL OF FAME INDUCTION—The newly created Rays Hall of Fame will induct its inaugural member, Don Zimmer, in a pregame ceremony ahead of today’s contest… Zimmer spent 11 seasons with Tampa Bay as a senior advisor from 2004-2014, his longest stint with any franchise during his 66-year career that spanned parts of eight decades… he was part of the organization during the 2008 World Series run as well as a stretch of four postseason trips in six seasons from 2008-13…Zimmer passed away on June 4, 2014 at age 83 — the Rays retired his No. 66 the following year, one of three numbers retired by the franchise along with Hall of Famers Wade Boggs (No. 12) and Jackie Robinson (No. 42)…the Rays team MVP award is named in Zimmer’s honor.
VS. DETROIT—Last season, Tampa Bay went 5-2 vs. Detroit, its most victories over the Tigers since 2017 (5-2)…the Rays are 14-4 (.778) at home against the Tigers since the beginning of the 2017 season, outscoring Detroit. 93-47 (+46). over that stretch.
SETTING THE TONE—The Rays pitching staff opened the season with 12.0 scoreless frames before Miguel Cabrera’s RBI-single in the fourth inning of yesterday’s game… per Elias, it marked the second-longest scoreless inning streak to open a season in club history, behind only the 2021 squad (15.0IP)…Tampa Bay pitchers have allowed just two runs to open the season, the fewest the club has allowed through the first two games of a season in franchise history (prev. 4 runs, 2021 & 2022).
HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS—Since the beginning of the 2017 season, the Rays are 266-170 (.610) in home games, the fourth-best home winning percentage in the majors in that span, trailing only Los Angeles-NL (299-140, .681), New York-AL (287-151, .655) and Houston (282-154, .647).
PITCHERS’ PARADISE—The 2022 Rays pitched to a 3.41 ERA, fourth in the majors behind Los Angeles-NL (2.80), Houston (2.90) and New York-AL (3.30), and second in club history behind the 2012 Rays (3.19)…Tampa Bay finished among the majors’ top 10 in ERA for a sixth-straight season and among the majors’ top five for a fourth-straight season.
SUSTAINED SUCCESS—Tampa Bay has reached the postseason in a franchise-best four straight seasons and in eight of the last 15 seasons since 2008…only four other clubs have reached the postseason as often since 2008: Los Angeles-NL (12), New York-NL (11), St. Louis (10) and Atlanta (8)…the Rays are one of three AL teams (Astros, Yankees) and one of six in the majors (Braves, Cardinals, Dodgers) to make the postseason in each of the last four seasons (2019-22).
REBRANDING—Since becoming the Rays in 2008, the club owns the fourth-best record in baseball at 1,269-1,062 (.544), including two World Series appearances (2020, 2008)… this success comes after the Devil Rays amassed the majors’ worst record at 645-972 (.399) over the club’s first decade of existence (1998-2007).
TODAY’S STARTER: LHP JEFFREY SPRINGS (0-0, -.–)
SPRING FEVER—A sixth-year veteran, Springs opens the season in the Rays rotation after transitioning into a starting role last May…is coming off a career year in 2022 that saw him post a 9-5 mark with a 2.46 ERA (135.1IP, 37ER) over 33 games (25 starts)…was acquired by the Rays along with RHP Chris Mazza from Boston on 2/17/21 in exchange for C Ronaldo Hernández and 2B Nick Sogard…signed a four-year, $31 million deal with the Rays through the 2026 season on 1/25/23, including a club option.
NO SPRING CHICKEN—Was untouched across four Spring Training starts, throwing 12.0 scoreless frames to pair with a 3-0 record, 21 strikeouts and only two walks…threw 3.1 hitless frames on March 10 vs. Atlanta…produced 50% of his outs via the strikeout in his spring starts (14.0IP, 21SO)…was the only pitcher in MLB to toss 14.0+ scoreless innings this past spring.
2022 RECAP—After opening the year with a 0.69 ERA (13.IP, 1ER) over his first nine appearances in the bullpen (one start as an opener), Springs transitioned to a full-time starting role for the first time in his career, going 8-5 with a 2.65 ERA (122.1IP, 36ER) over his final 24 appearances, all of which were starts…overall, his 2.46 ERA on the season ranked sixth in the AL (min. 100.0IP).
Went 6-2 with a 2.18 ERA (62.0IP, 15ER) from 8/4 through the season’s end, ranking among AL leaders (min. 60.0IP) in that span in ERA (4th) and WHIP (8th, 1.02).
On 9/18/22 at Texas, Springs saw his career-best scoreless inning streak come to an end at 17.2 IP but picked up the win over the club that originally drafted him in 2015 (W, 5.2IP, 6H, 3R-2ER, 6SO).
MOTOR CITY MATCHUP—Has one previous start against Detroit under his belt, picking up the win while holding the Tigers to a pair of unearned tallies in Tampa Bay’s 6-2 win at Comerica Park on 8/4/22 (6.0IP, 4H, 2R-0ER, 6SO).
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE—Springs has thrived against AL Central competition throughout his career, pitching to a 2-1 mark with a 1.72 ERA (36.2IP, 7ER) in 14 games (five starts) opposite the circuit, his lowest ERA against any division…is currently riding a 12.0-inning scoreless streak against the AL Central.
In 2022, went 2-1 with a 1.30 ERA (27.2IP, 4ER) in five starts opposite AL Central clubs…marked the third-best ERA against the division in the majors (min. 25.0IP), trailing only Minnesota’s Jhoan Duran (0.26) and Chicago-AL’s Dylan Cease (1.14).
HOME COOKING—Turned in a 4-2 record with a 2.23 ERA (60.2IP, 15ER) in 16 appearances (11 starts) at Tropicana Field in 2022…among AL pitchers with 10+ home starts, Springs ranked fifth in home ERA.
At Tropicana Field, opposing hitters were limited to a .151/.224/.283 (8-for-53) slash line against Springs with runners in scoring position…he yielded only four extra-base hits (2 2B, 3B, HR) in 58 plate appearances with RISP at home.
Springs has permitted three or fewer runs in each of his first 11 starts at Tropicana Field since joining the Rays…this includes six home starts allowing one or zero earned runs.
A TALE OF TWO ROLES—In his 27 career starts, Springs is 8-5 with a 2.56 ERA (130.0IP, 37ER) while holding opponents to a .227/.270/.363 (113-for498) clip…conversely, the southpaw is 11-5 with a 4.54 ERA (134.2IP, 68ER) and a .261/.337/.459 (136-for-521) opponents’ slash line in 108 career relief appearances.
KEEP THE CHANGE—In 2022, Springs utilized his changeup at a 34.7% rate, the second-highest clip in the majors (min. 1,500 pitches) behind Miami’s Pablo López (35.3%)…opponents hit .229 (53-for-231) and slugged .320 in at-bats ending with the offering…induced a 38.1% whiff rate against his changeup, and 65 of his 70 (92.9%) of his strikeouts with it came on whiffs…his 70 strikeouts with the pitch were fourth-most by any MLB pitcher via the changeup.
GONE FISHING—Per FanGraphs, he induced a swing on 39.8% of his pitches outside of the strike zone last season, the third-highest chase rate in the majors (min. 100.0IP) behind only Toronto’s Kevin Gausman (42.7%) and Los Angeles-NL’s Tyler Anderson (39.1%)…marked the highest chase rate in Rays history under the same parameters.
