The result is all that matters to Percival

The means often frustrate Rays fans and keep even those in his own dugout on edge, but the end is all that matters to Troy Percival, and he got the result he wanted again Thursday.

Percival's first appearance of the season resulted in his first save since the Dan Johnson game Sept. 9, and it went about as expected. Jason Varitek led off the ninth with a homer that cut the Rays' lead to one run, and a two-out walk of David Ortiz brought the winning run to the plate. But Percival retired Kevin Youkilis on a fly to deep center to finish it.

"It doesn't always have to be an oil painting to be successful," Manager Joe Maddon said. "It wasn't an oil painting today, but he got her done."

Given his long track record with Percival, Maddon is perhaps calmer in those situations than others might be, as the pitcher acknowledged Thursday.

"Joe knows that there's a lot of mine that aren't pretty," Percival said.

Aside from the result, the most important indicator Thursday was that Percival felt fine physically in his first full-adrenaline test since undergoing back surgery in the offseason. His only problem in his 2009 debut was in gripping the baseballs, which he described as "really, really slick," to the point that he felt he could throw only his fastball and change-up.

"I just wanted to come off that field with a win," Percival said.

PLAYER'S DEATH HITS HOME

News of Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart's death early Thursday morning in a traffic accident had many in the Rays' clubhouse in a reflective mood.

"It's one of those things that hit home," pitcher Matt Garza said. "When I heard, I called my family."

Percival is one of the few who knew the 22-year-old personally, thanks to his brief stint as an instructor with the Angels two years ago.

"He was a great kid," Percival said. "When I was coaching I got a chance to meet him and work with him down in the bullpen just a little bit. I feel really bad for his family and the whole Angels organization."

Maddon never met Adenhart, who was drafted by the Angels in 2004, but his ties to the organization and the area run deep.

"I was thinking about it a lot during the course of the game, and I know the guys are struggling today out in California," Maddon said.

TIME FOR A CHANGE

The change-up is all the rage among Rays pitchers, from Scott Kazmir to David Price, and Andy Sonnanstine spent the spring working on adding it to his repertoire as well. He'll get his first chance to use it in a game that counts when he makes his season debut tonight, and he said he has talked to the Rays' catchers about getting it into the mix.

"It's going to take a couple times out to kind of get used to it and see how much and when I should use it," Sonnanstine said.

NOTEWORTHY

The Rays won their season-opening series for the first time since 2002, when they swept the Tigers in three games at Tropicana Field. ... Pat Burrell's pinch-hit single off 3B Nick Green's glove in the ninth was his first hit as a Ray. ... The forecast calls for steady rain tonight in Baltimore, and it apparently is ominous enough that the Rays have noted a May 11 mutual off day with the Orioles in case a makeup date is needed.

Marc Lancaster