Charlie Furbush wins debut game as Detroit Tigers overpower Tampa Bay Rays 6-3 - MLB Update
The Detroit Tigers’ new pitcher Charlie Furbush had an exceptional debut in the Majors as he tossed strong relief innings to take his club to a 6-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays in the first game of the three-game series at Comerica Park, on Monday night,
May 23.
Furbush entered the plate and tossed three innings of relief, after the Tigers’ starter Phil Coke injured his right ankle. Coke has given an early 1-0 lead to the opposition in the fourth inning but the highly publicised left-hander started brilliantly to
hold the Rays in the lead.
The pitcher managed to impress his manager Jim Leyland with an impressive performance, two days after he was drafted from Triple-A Toledo.
Leyland said, "He didn't have time to think about it, he just pitched. I did not say anything to him. I just gave him the ball."
The 25-year-old ball thrower yielded only two hits and walked one, as he struck-out three batters in the crucial time to create some relief for his batters.
The relief worked as Andy Dirks launched a homer off the Rays’ starter Jeremy Hellickson in the fifth inning to tie the game 1-1. Then, Miguel Cabrera added an RBI single in the sixth to take his team into a leading position with 1-0 on the board.
After allowing these runs, Hellickson remained scoreless in the next inning and handed the ball to reliever James Philip Howell, who gave away two singles before being relieved by Juan Cruz in the same inning. However, Cruz could not stop the Tigers' Victor
Martinez and Jhonny Peralta from scoring an RBI double each to take their club into a 6-1 unassailable lead.
On the other hand, Joaquin Benoit replaced Furbush and remained scoreless in the eighth inning.
The Rays were still pessimistic to bounce back in the game and they tried hard to make this possibility real. Nevertheless, Sean Rodriguez grounded out to short-stop and John Jaso was hit by a pitch before he walked. Matt Joyce singled to the right-field,
allowing Jaso to steal third base.
"That game wasn't lost in the ninth," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "It was lost early on when we didn't take advantage of those scoring opportunities early in the game."
With two bases loaded, the Tigers’ closer Jose Valverde got under pressure and gave the Rays’ Sam Fuld an RBI double that cut the lead 3-6. Fuld walked to second base on a wild pitch by Valverde, who allowed another walk before taking Johnny Damon on a line
out to end the game 6-3.
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