Another Day, Another Win for Rays, Shields

May 12, 2011

A: Cleveland Indians

Attendance: 18,107

W: James Shields (4-1) 2.08 ERA

L: Justin Masterson (5-1) 2.73 ERA

Summary:

The Rays ended one impressive winning streak last night and ended another one today. Justin Masterson, 5-0 coming in, lost his first start today. The Rays jumped on him early, scoring four times in the second. In that inning Reid Brignac doubled home two runs (his first extra-base hit of the year) and Sam Fuld followed with a two-run single.

James Shields continued his string of stellar outings. He wasn’t quite as dominant as he has been, but considering the rare run support that he got, he didn’t need to be. Over seven innings, he struck out seven while allowing two runs. Indian’s hitters were regularly going after his change-up in the dirt. Even more impressive were his two pickoffs, one at first and one at second.

The Rays put the game away for good when Evan Longoria doubled home two in the ninth. Kyle Farnsworth finished up the 7-4 victory, while allowing a run.

When the Rays were starting to dig themselves out of the early hole they created, I wondered how good the Rays really were. They certainly aren’t 1-8 bad. Well, they’ve been red hot for over a month now, with a 21-7 record since that bad start. If this is the real Rays, then we are in for a fun summer.

Player of the Game: James Shields. “Big Game” James delivers once again, providing another long outing to give the bullpen a break.