DETROIT (AP) — Jose Siri homered and drove in three runs, Zack Littell won his second straight start and the Tampa Bay Rays routed the Detroit Tigers 8-0 on Friday night.
Littell (2-2) gave up three hits and a walk in six innings, one start after going a career-high five in a win against the Houston Astros.
“This was pretty cool,” he said. “It felt like every time I turned around, someone was making a spectacular play behind me or the guys were scoring more runs. It’s fun to pitch in a game like that.”
Littell was a career reliever before being moved into the injury-plagued Rays’ rotation.
“I have a lot of confidence in my stuff, but to be in a rotation with the elite guys we have it is still a little — I don’t want to say intimidating,” he said. “I just want to be a part of it and do what I did tonight.”
Harold Ramírez had three hits and scored twice, and former Tiger Isaac Paredes had two hits and two RBIs. The Rays won for the fourth time in five games.
“I don’t think playing the Tigers was the reason Isaac had a big game,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “He did have a big series against them at the start of the year, but he’s been doing that against everyone.”
Reese Olson (1-5) took the loss, allowing four runs on five hits and three walks in five innings. The Tigers have lost seven of nine.
The Rays took a 4-0 lead with two runs in each of the first two innings.
In the first, Paredes hit a two-run double down the left-field line to score Brandon Lowe and Randy Arozarena. Ramírez led off the second with a walk and scored on Siri’s long homer to left-center.
“I thought (Olson) made bad pitches with two strikes – that’s the tough part,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “Credit them with good at-bats, but our execution could have been better in that situation.”
Chasen Shreve replaced Olson for the sixth, but Josh Lowe reached on third baseman Zach McKinstry’s throwing error, Ramírez and Siri singled to make it 5-0. Beau Brieske came out of the bullpen, and Christian Bethancourt and Yandy Díaz added RBI singles to make it 7-0 with no one out. Ramírez had an RBI single in the eighth.
“Jose has 21 homers, and that’s what everyone pays attention to,” Cash said. “But he had a huge at-bat in the sixth, coming back with two strikes and helping break open a 4-0 game.”
Tigers utilityman Zack Short pitched a perfect ninth.
HELP FROM HIS DEFENSE
Littell would have allowed at least one early run if not for spectacular defense by shortstop Wander Franco, including one to turn Javy Báez’s expected hit into a double play.
“I think he had three highlight-reel plays,” Cash said. “Part of what makes him such a special player is, on a night when he was 0-for-4, he found another way to help us win a game.”
NICE START TO A CAREER
INF Curtis Mead, called up earlier in the day to replace LHP Shane McClanahan (forearm), made his major-league debut at third base as a defensive replacement for Paredes in the seventh. He led off the eighth with a single.
UP NEXT:
The teams continue their weekend series Saturday, with LHP Tarik Skubal (1-1, 4.57) starting for Detroit against RHP Aaron Civale (5-2, 2.34). ___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
