Vying for the fifth spot in Detroit's rotation with veterans Mike Pelfrey and Anibal Sanchez, the 26-year-old Boyd said he felt fine about the outing despite the result. He quickly sat down the Rays in order in the first before yielding all four runs in the second on a double by Rickie Weeks Jr., singles from Luke Maile and Corey Dickerson and a grounder by prospect Willy Adames.
"I feel really good. All the stuff was working," said Boyd, who was 6-5 with a 4.53 ERA in 20 games (18 starts) with the Tigers this past season.