Detroit Tigers at Tampa Bay Rays: How to follow along with Grapefruit League finale
Detroit Tigers (20-9) at Tampa Bay Rays (11-16), Grapefruit League exhibition finale
When: 12:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Where: Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.
TV: None..
Radio: None (Tigers radio affiliates).
Probable pitchers: Tigers RHP Casey Mize (2-1, 3.38 ERA) vs. Twins RHP Louie Varland (1-0, 0.00).
Tigers lineup: TBA.
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Game notes: The Tigers’ roster is all but set, the bags are packed for Thursday’s Opening Day in Chicago and all that’s left is — FOR THE LOVE OF PAWS — keep right-hander Casey Mize healthy.
Today’s starter in St. Pete is making one more appearance in his spring work recovering from elbow surgery (of the notorious Tommy John variety) and back surgery (sadly, with no name attached). He probably won’t pitch very long today, but the Tigers would probably like to see him reach at least 70 pitches, his total from his previous start Wednesday.
In that game, against the Twins, Mize brought the heat, with a 97.7 mph fastball on his final pitch, wrapping things up with two hits allowed, two walks, four strikeouts and 44 strikes in 4⅔ innings. The 2018 No. 1 overall draft pick was ready for more: "I feel like I could keep going," Mize told reporters. "I feel like I could go more than five up-downs. Being able to go get that (velocity) tells me that I'll always have that in my back pocket. Runner on first there, but even in tougher situations, I can get some velocity and still execute a pitch at a high level. It definitely feels good."
For now, the Tigers will settle for Mize staying ready to take the mound in New York next week, with a series against the Mets set for April 1-3.
After today, the Tigers head to the Windy City, where they’ll work out on Wednesday before taking on the White Sox on Thursday afternoon to open the 2024 season. The Rays, meanwhile, open the season at home with a visit from the Toronto Blue Jays under the roof of their dome sweet dome.
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Live updates
For updates from and around the diamond, check it out on X.
Contact Ryan Ford at rford@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @theford. Read more on the Detroit Tigers and sign up for our Tigers newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers game score at Tampa Bay Rays: Time, TV
