Detroit, MI – Brennan Boesch celebrated his 27th birthday by going 2-for-4 with four RBI, as the Detroit Tigers took down the Tampa Bay Rays, 7-2, in the final test of a three-game series.
Andy Dirks and Alex Avila each had two hits, two runs scored and an RBI for the Tigers, who are off to a 5-1 start.
Drew Smyly gave up one run on four hits over four-plus innings in his MLB debut. He struck out four and walked three. Collin Balester (1-0) allowed one run in two-plus innings of relief to pick up the win.
Carlos Pena hit a solo home run for the Rays, who lost two of three in the series. Evan Longoria also knocked in a run.
Jeff Niemann (0-1) allowed three runs on four hits in five full frames to suffer the loss. He struck out six and walked two.
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