Niemann's Debut Gets Rays a Win

Jeff Niemann allowed just one run over six innings in his major league debut for the Tampa Bay Rays today.  Niemann was recalled from Triple-A Durham to replace the injured Matt Garza in the rotation. The 6-foot-9 right-hander gave up six hits, one walk and had five strikeouts to record his first big-league win over the Baltimore Orioles, 6-2.

Akinori Iwamura drove in a run with single and Carl Crawford hit a two-run single before B.J. Upton's three-run shot on a 3-2 pitch with two outs. Brian Burres (1-1) allowed six runs and five hits in 4 2-3 innings. He has given up 22 earned runs over 16 1-3 innings in nine career appearances against Tampa Bay. (More MLB stories.)