The 20-year-old will be limited in his innings, but this spring he threw a lot of strikes and got plenty of outs with a sharp sinker.

The Tigers got a peek at a potential closer Wednesday night when right-hander Ryan Perry, a 22-year-old who was a first-round pick last June, worked a 1-2-3 eighth and displayed a sharp, mid-90s fastball.

His slider was out of the strike zone, but his fastball made up for it.

"I think he was fine, as we expected," manager Jim Leyland said. "His heart was racing so much when he came off the mound, he said, 'I'm so glad that's out of the way.'"

Leyland might have been tempted to get Perry into Tuesday night's 5-4 loss, when a late bullpen collapse cost Detroit a victory, save for the second-year pro's limited experience.

"We had a veteran like (Brandon) Lyon, you just hated to put a kid in that situation," Leyland said. "I wish we'd won the game (Tuesday) night. (If I'd used Perry), maybe we would have, maybe not, but everybody's got to get some outs for us. It was good to get his feet wet."

Perry has a chance to be an impact pitcher, and the Tigers saw some flaws during the 12 games he worked at the Class A level last year, enough to induce them to have him make some changes to hide the ball better.

He didn't look nervous entering the game, but he was clearly trying to choke off a smile when he came off the mound.

"I don't know what his heart rate was when he came off, but I can assure it was not normal," Leyland said

Now they will see what their rookie starter looks like.

TIGERS 5, BLUE JAYS 1: Miguel Cabrera hit two home runs and drove in four runs, and Brandon Inge hit his third home run in three games Wednesday night to carry Detroit to its first victory of the season. Zach Miner, handed a 3-0 lead thanks to Cabrera's first-inning blast, gave up hits to the first three batters he faced and looked on the verge of collapse. Then he got a forceout at the plate followed by a flyball double play and allowed only three more hits in the 5 2/3 innings he pitched. Solo home runs by Cabrera and Inge completed the scoring. Ryan Perry, Detroit's top choice in last June's draft, worked a 1-2-3 eighth in his major league debut.