Alfredo Simon Stops Rays in 1-0 Tiger Victory; Mets Rangers Close Spring with 4-4 Tie on Anthony Recker's 9th Inning Slam

Players of the Day for Saturday, April 4, 2013

Simon: 1 Hit

Grapefruit League

The Tigers and Rays finished up the exhibition season with a 1-0 win for Detroit in which there were only a combined six hits between the two teams.

Detroit had four of them, one a solo homer by Victor Martinez, his second-inning shot scoring the only run of the game.

The Rays managed only two hits, and just one off starter, Alfredo Simon, who worked five innings, didn''t allow any walks, struck out three and threw 37 of 50 pitches for strikes.

The Reds traded right-hander Simon to the Tigers during the off-season for 2013 first-round Draft pick Jonathon Crawford, and infielder Eugenio Suarez.

Recker: Grand Slam

So far, the trade has received mixed reviews from Tiger management. In seven Spring starts Simon is 2-2, with a 4.55 ERA. He is expected to bolster an already deep Detroit staff ad Saturday's effort was a positive development.

Cactus League

Maybe this is how exhibition season should end.

Down 4-0 in the ninth, the Mets rallied to put three men aboard for catcher, Anthony Recker, who - fittingly, on the day before Easter - took an offering from a fellow named Jesus (Texas reliever, Jesus Pirela) and deposited the ball over the center feild wall for a grand slam and a 4-4 tie with Texas.

The Rangers failed to score in the bottom of the ninth, leaving the 12,000+ faithful at Globe Life Stadium in Arlington, Texas, with a less-than-satisfied feeling.

With the regular season beginning on Sunday, with one game - the Cubs vs. Cardinals - there was no point in prolonging the end of Spring training, the players itching to get the regular season underway as much as the impatient fans.

For the Mets, and Recker, who played 58 games last season behind the plate for New York, the finish left them with a 19-12 mark. The Rangers ended up 9-19.