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Niemann, Rays aim to end struggles vs. White Sox

Apr 18, 2008 - 12:55 PM Chi White Sox (9-6) at Tampa Bay (7-9) 7:10 pm EDT

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (Ticker) - Jeff Niemann looks to build off an impressive debut on Friday as the Tampa Bay Rays host the Chicago White Sox in the opener of a three-game series.

The Rays young pitching staff has been ravaged by injuries - Scott Kazmir has yet to make a start due to a strained left elbow and Matt Garza is on the DL with irritation in his right elbow.

That has opened the door for Niemann (1-0, 1.50 ERA), who was the fourth overall pick of the 2004 draft. The righthander hopes to end Tampa Bay's struggles against Chicago, which has won the last five meetings.

Niemann did not disappoint in his first career start, as he limited the Baltimore Orioles to just one run and six hits in six innings of a 6-2 victory on Sunday.

Tampa Bay snapped a three-game skid with a 7-3 victory over Minnesota on Thursday. Nathan Hayes replaced an injured Carlos Pena in the fourth inning and drove in a pair of runs.

Pena, however, is listed as day-to-day with tightness in his right hamstring. He hit 46 home runs last season, and already has six home runs this year.

Chicago will try and bounce back from Thursday's 6-5 10-inning loss to Baltimore behind Javier Vazquez (2-1, 3.32), who is looking for his third straight win. The righthander allowed just five hits in seven innings of a 11-0 victory over Detroit on Sunday.

Carlos Quentin homered twice, but Bobby Jenks blew his first save of the season by allowing Baltimore to knot the game with two runs in the bottom of the ninth.