The Skinny: The Rays started their series with the Angles this evening and were part of a good old fashioned pitchers duel. Jon Garland was great for the Angels but James Shields was just a bit better for the Rays. The Rays won 2-0, all the runs coming in the bottom of the ninth on an Evan Longoria HR. The Rays are now 19-16 this season.
The Pitching: Shields was the story of the game tonight in Tampa. He threw a complete game shut out, allowing only one hit on 92 pitches. Without a doubt this will be one of the best games thrown all year in the majors. Shields struck out eight Angel hitters including Torii Hunter twice. The only hit he allowed was a single to Brandon Wood. Shields is now 4-2 on the year with an ERA of 3.14.
The Hitting: Since all the runs came on one swing of the bat, there wasn’t much more going on. Longoria’s HR in the ninth came with one out in 9th off of Angels reliever Justin Speier. BJ Upton also scored on the homer. The HR was Longoria’s only hit of the game. The only Ray player with more than one hit was Carlos Pena who had two hits.
What’s Next?: The Rays and Angels will go at it again tomorrow night in Tampa. Scott Kazmir will be making his second start of the season. Game time is 7:10pm.
