LAKELAND, Fla. – Hours after rotation-mate Justin Verlander got the biggest contract ever given to a pitcher, Max Scherzer extended his dominant spring training with six innings of one-hit ball as the Detroit Tigers beat the Tampa Bay Rays 8-3 on Friday.
Verlander agreed to a $180 million, seven-year contract, topping Felix Hernandez for the richest deal for a pitcher in baseball history.
Scherzer, the Tigers' No. 5 starter, finishes the spring with a 0.57 ERA. He struck out nine and has only allowed one earned run over 25 1-3 innings.
Rays starter Jeremy Hellickson allowed eight runs — six earned — in three innings. He yielded homers to Prince Fielder, Alex Avila and Omar Infante.
Miguel Cabrera had two doubles for the Tigers and Austin Jackson tripled.
Sam Fuld homered off Octavio Dotel for the Rays.
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