PORT CHARLOTTE (620 WDAE) -- Rickie Weeks Jr. continued his torrid spring at the plate, as his two RBI doubles helped the Tampa Bay Rays defeat the Detroit Tigers 5-2 Friday at Charlotte Sports Park.
Weeks' first RBI double got the scoring started in the bottom of the second inning, scoring Brad Miller, who doubled in front of him to start the frame. Singles by Tim Beckham and Mallex Smith loaded the bases and Luke Maile's RBI single made it 2-0. A double play grounder by Willy Adames scored Beckham and Corey Dickerson's single brought Smith around for a 4-0 advantage.
After Ryan Yarbrough worked two scoreless innings, striking out five, Shawn Tolleson allowed a pair of runs in the third to cut the lead back to 4-2, but Weeks brought Miller around for a second consecutive inning in the bottom of the third.
Tampa Bay finished the game with scoreless relief from Xavier Cedeno (making his spring debut), Alex Colome, David Carpenter and Jose Alvarado, and two perfect frames from Chih-Wei Hu to close things up.
The Rays (5-2-1) next welcome the Baltimore Orioles to Charlotte Sports Park Saturday. Chris Archer is scheduled to start for the final time before heading to the World Baseball Classic, taking on Ubaldo Jimenez. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05, with coverage on WDAE beginning at 12:30 with Countdown to Opening Day.
Listen to comments from manager Kevin cash, outfielder Mallex Smith and first baseman Rickie Weeks Jr. below!