- Kevin Tall
- Stock photo
Lacking much in the way of offensive weapons, the Tampa Bay Rays had Shields raised in defense, holding strong against the avenging Angels of Anaheim.
Big Game James settled into his start against the Halos seamlessly, picking up his incredible performance of late that led to two consecutive, complete-game wins.
This one ended as a no-decision, as Shields was denied the opportunity to three-peat with complete games, pulled in favor of Kyle Farnsworth after yielding a leadoff double to Torii Hunter in the top of the in the ninth.
"It was 108 pitches and he was up against Hunter," said Rays manager Joe Maddon. "I was just looking at where the pitches were to Torii because he had really handled him well to that point. I saw pitches up. Historically, Wells has done okay against him. I knew Kyle was fresh."
The Farnz earned his first blown save of the year—and first in a Rays uni—allowing Hunter to advance and score on some Angels small ball in the final frame of regulation.
Matt Joyce led off the top of the 10th with a double and eventually scored on a wild pitch by Halos’ reliever Fernando Rodney.
But Shields started this one as a champ and one might think he could have closed it out the same.
This article appears in May 19-25, 2011.