Chad Durbin (4-1, 4.74) vs. 
Edwin Jackson (0-6, 7.78)
Happy Memorial Day to everyone. I hope you've enjoyed your holiday. Apologies for the late open thread posting. For sanity's sake, I had to salvage something what's left of my holiday with a cookout. Otherwise, when someone asked me tomorrow, "Hey, what did you do this weekend?" I would've had to say, "Oh, I opted against grilling meats over open fire in favor of cutting my grass." (Stupid lawn! Why does it have to grow?)
The Tigers had a rough weekend at home, as the Indians took an early advantage in the AL Central. But I think the team has the right idea. When things are going rough and you need a break, pack up the bags, and take a trip to Florida. Of course, the schedule requires that they'll have to play some baseball during the excursion.
And tonight, we'll see if Chad Durbin can play the role of stopper. There's no reason to think he can't help the Tigers end this three-game losing streak. He's been very good recently. But he's only gone past the sixth inning in two of his nine starts, and the Tigers could probably use a longer outing from him, much like Mike Maroth provided last night.
Based on his record, Jackson appears to be ground meat that the Tigers' bats can feast on like a juicy hamburger off the grill. (Sorry, I still have cookouts on the brain.) This will actually be the first time he's seen the mound in nine days, as his turn in the rotation was skipped over and then rained out. His last start was awful, as he gave up seven runs (six earned) in 2 2/3 innings to the Marlins. Jackson has given up fewer than four runs in only two of his eight appearances.
I'm looking forward to seeing some of that young D-Rays' talent I've been hearing so much about, such as B.J. Upton, Delmon Young, and (domestic issues aside) Elijah Dukes.
Your SB Nation opposing view for this series can be found at DRaysBay.
Short Hops:
▪▪ The Devil Rays have activated early-season surprise, 3B Akinori Iwamura, from the disabled list and sent DH Jonny Gomes (who I still think of as a punk for admiring a home run he hit against the Tigers a couple of years ago) to AAA Durham.
▪▪ According to the official MLB.com press notes, Sean Casey is beginning to swing a good bat. He got a hit in eight of the nine games on the last homestand, batting .438 (14-for-32) with three doubles and four RBI.