Two of baseball's best young pitchers take the mound when the Tampa Bay Devil Rays visit Comerica Park to take on the Detroit Tigers Monday in the opener of a four-game series.
The Tigers will hand the ball to Justin Verlander (7-4, 3.35 ERA) to open up the set. The 23-year-old rookie right-hander is 0-1 in his last two starts following a four-game winning streak.
On Wednesday, Verlander pitched six innings, giving up four runs and six hits in a 4-3 loss to the Chicago White Sox. Tigers manager Jim Leyland pulled Verlander in the seventh inning afetr he had thrown just 103 pitches. Leyland said he was concerned after his young star had experienced right shoulder stiffness in his previous outing.
"That's a golden arm," Leyland said. "That's a golden future, and I've got to be careful with that."
Verlander has never faced the Devil Rays (26-37), who send Scott Kazmir (7-4, 3.59) to the mound trying to halt a minor slide of his own.
After winning five straight starts between April 30 and May 21, Kazmir has lost his last two decisions over three outings, including a 12-2 defeat last Tuesday against the Los Angeles Angels. The 22-year-old left-hander gave up a season-high seven runs through 6 1-3 innings, allowing nine hits while striking out five.
"(Kazmir) wasn't nearly as sharp as he can be," Devil Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "He's a young man, he's going to pitch through these moments. He's going to be fine."
Kazmir has allowed 16 runs in 13 2-3 innings in his last three starts after limiting opponents to two or fewer runs in each of the victories during his winning streak.
"You've just got to let it go, keep working hard and get better," he said.
Kazmir is 1-3 with a 6.86 ERA in four career starts against the Tigers.
Detroit (40-23) held onto its AL Central lead and the best record in baseball by taking the final two games of its weekend series against the Toronto Blue Jays.
"With the new coaching staff and Jim Leyland as the manager that makes the difference," said Ivan Rodriguez, who homered and tied a season-high with five RBIs in Sunday's 10-5 victory. "Everybody around here is doing a little bit."
Sunday's win was just Detroit's fifth in the last 14 games, and allowed the Tigers to conclude a six-game road trip with a 3-3 record. The Tigers have also won back-to-back games for the first time since an eight-game winning streak from May 20-27.
The Devil Rays also won two straight to wrap up their weekend series against the Kansas City Royals. Sunday's 8-2 win gave Tampa Bay its first series win since a sweep of the Florida Marlins from May 19-22.
The Devil Rays had a season-high 17 hits in the series finale as Jonny Gomes and Carl Crawford went a combined 5-for-9 with four home runs.
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