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9th-inning grand slam gives Tigers sweep of Rays

The Associated Press

Tigers ' Aubrey Huff gets a high-five from third base coach Gene Lamont Sunday against the Rays in St. Petersburg.

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By TONY FABRIZIO | The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 6, 2009

Updated: 09/06/2009 05:36 pm

ST. PETERSBURG - So what does a rookie have to do to win a game for the Rays these days?

Lake Wales' Wade Davis made his long-awaited major-league debut Sunday, struck out the first four batters he faced and held a first-place team to one run on three hits through seven innings.

But the two-run lead he handed to a reeling bullpen in the eighth inning didn't hold, and after Brandon Inge hit a ninth-inning grand slam off Russ Springer, the Detroit Tigers had a 5-3 victory and a three-game sweep of the defending American League champs.

The Rays ended their homestand 1-5. They are seven games behind the Red Sox and four back of the Rangers, seemingly out of contention in the wild-card race entering an 11-day, 11-game road trip with a doubleheader today at Yankee Stadium.

"It's difficult, because if you lose games late like that, that's more difficult to take," Manager Joe Maddon said.

Davis struck out Curtis Granderson, Ramon Santiago and Carlos Guillen in the first inning. He began the second by striking out Miguel Cabrera, who was hitting .416 in his last 20 games.

After ex-Ray Aubrey Huff introduced Davis to the majors with a solo home run, the right-hander struck out Magglio Ordonez and Inge.

Davis finished with nine strikeouts, breaking the club record for strikeouts by a pitcher in his major-league debut set by Rolando Arrojo (six) set April 1, 1998.

"I was trying to pitch to contact and get some quick outs," Davis said. "They fouled a couple of them back, and I snuck a couple in there."

In the end, Davis suffered the same fate of rookie Jeff Niemann in his last two starts - no decision.

Niemann left with a 3-1 lead Aug. 30 in Detroit, only to see Grant Balfour give up a three-run homer to Placido Polanco in a 4-3 loss. Friday, Niemann permitted one run through 7 2/3 innings in another 4-3 loss.

Davis watched Sunday's collapse from the clubhouse, where he completed his postgame exercises.

"I mean, everybody wants to win," he said. "I gave them a chance."

Early on, the Rays got to former teammate Edwin Jackson (12-6) for three runs. Evan Longoria hit his 28th home run, a solo shot in the second that gave him 100 RBIs for the year, and he and Carlos Peña became the first Rays teammates to collect 100 RBIs in the same season.

In the third inning, Carl Crawford brought home a run with a double-play grounder, and Jackson allowed another with a wild pitch with speedy Fernando Perez at third.

The trouble began with one out in the ninth, when Maddon, staying true to his matchup bullpen approach, pulled Lance Cormier after he had retired four consecutive batters.

Balfour walked Cabrera, Howell walked pinch-hitter Marcus Thames, and Springer (0-3) gave up a single to Magglio Ordonez and the grand slam to All-Star third baseman Inge.

"It was the first slider I threw in the inning, and he squared it up like he was looking for it," Springer said. "And it wasn't that bad a pitch. It was on the outside corner. I know he's a hook guy, but on paper, he's supposed to hit that ball on the ground to second base."

Maddon said he replaced Cormier because "we had that set up prior to the inning." Cormier wasn't going to face Huff, the third batter of the inning, because Huff was 4-for-7 against him.

Cormier didn't question the decision.

"Obviously it didn't work out, but how many times has he (Maddon) made moves that did work out?" he said.

Whether it was managing or the bullpen's execution, the formula didn't work for Davis in a fine major-league debut.

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