ST. PETERSBURG -- Simply having Jordan Zimmermann back in action provided a huge boost to the Tigers’ beleaguered rotation. What he accomplished during his return Saturday night was a bonus.

Though Zimmermann was long gone by the time pinch-hitter Michael Brosseau hit a walk-off single into the right-center-field gap to score the first -- and only -- run of the game in the Rays’ 1-0, 13-inning victory at Tropicana Field, he started a Tigers pitching trend that carried through right up until the end.

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All that was missing was a run.

“I guess we could say both teams pitched really well for it to go that deep and that long with nobody scoring,” Detroit manager Ron Gardenhire said, “but I know we struck out as many times as I’ve ever seen in a baseball game, and we had to really finagle our way through some situations, and our whole staff did a really, really nice job of it, getting us through. It kept going on, and finally, you know, [the Rays] got us.”

Zimmermann held the Rays to one hit over five innings, striking out five and not walking a batter. The righty gained steam as he went, capping his stellar outing with a five-pitch fifth.

Jose Cisnero and Gregory Soto were the first to follow in Zimmermann’s wake, combining on two scoreless innings to get the Tigers past the seventh inning that has bewitched them so many times. When Buck Farmer threw a perfect eighth, Detroit seemed home free. Nick Ramirez carried the lockout -- and didn’t allow a hit -- through the ninth and 10th innings to further bolster street cred for a pitching staff that combined for a shutout in Friday night’s 2-0 win.

The starter, the relief, the setup, the defense … everything was working in harmony.

All that was missing was a run.

“Both teams were competing, and someone had to win,” said Niko Goodrum, the only Tigers player not to strike out multiple times in the game. “You have days like that; that’s baseball, so we’ll come back [Sunday] and do it again.

“All we can control is how hard we’re working, and our focus and our energy out there, so that’s what we’re going to keep doing.”

Goodrum also doubled in the seventh inning, his 27th of the season. Five of his past eight hits have gone for extra bases, and he has a hit in five of his past six games.

But Saturday night, nothing came of Goodrum’s offense … or any other Tigers, for that matter.

When the 11th inning began, no Tiger or Ray had reached base since the seventh. David McKay made it interesting by loading the bases with one out before coaxing Travis d’Arnaud into a double play to extend the stalemate. McKay added a scoreless 12th.

Matt Hall, the seventh pitcher Detroit turned to, worked the 13th. He secured two quick groundouts before allowing an Eric Sogard double to the gap. After Tommy Pham was intentionally walked to create a force situation, Brosseau drove the final hit to nearly the same place Sogard had to end the suspense.

From the gate, it was clear that the Zimmermann on the hill was not the same one who’d battled increasing discomfort in his neck and back, so much so that he received a nerve block injection on Aug. 5. Zim 2.0 threw free and easy, with two strikeouts in the opening frame and another pair in the second.

“I felt good; everything was working,” Zimmermann said. “I was able to get strike one. … I got a lot of ground balls tonight, and the guys were making plays behind me, so it was one of those nights that it was fun to be out there.”

The right-hander locked horns with Rays starter Ryan Yarbrough early, the duo combining for 10 strikeouts through three no-hit frames. Yarbrough blinked first, allowing Dawel Lugo to drop a sinking line drive just beyond diving shortstop Willy Adames’ glove for a single.

Zimmermann lost his perfect game on a one-out double in the fourth, but he stranded the runner at second by bouncing back with a flyout and a strikeout to end the threat.

Saturday marked the 33-year-old’s second scoreless start of the season, and his one hit allowed matched his Opening Day start for a season low.

He turned the ball over to the bullpen in hopes it could keep up the show. The Tigers’ relievers held up their end of the deal and then some, combining for shutout ball into the 13th.

All that was missing was a run.