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Shields struggles early in loss to Twins
MINNEAPOLIS — Like fellow All-Star David Price did a day earlier, right-hander James Shields struggled early Tuesday before settling in.
Also like Price, Shields received minimal run support as the Rays dropped their second straight to the Twins in a 3-2 loss at Target Field.
“You’ve got to score more than two runs to win,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said. “We got to get off the schneid with our offense. We’ve got to be more consistent.”
Shields opened his start giving up a single and double, with Twins leadoff hitter Ben Revere eventually scoring on a grounder to third by Michael Cuddyer. In the third, Shields allowed two more runs, as Revere led off with a single and Alexi Casilla followed with a walk.
Two batters later, Cuddyer singled to right and a fielding error by right fielder Matt Joyce allowed both runners to score on the play.
“I kind of noticed that he got jammed off the bat,” Joyce said. “It was one of those in between plays [and] I didn’t know if I was going to be able to catch it. So I came in hard and tried to make a play on it. I realized at the last second that I wasn’t going to be able to catch it, so I tried to slow up and stop it, but it kind of skipped on me and went right under my glove.”
Along with Joyce’s play, the decision by third baseman Evan Longoria to throw to first on Cuddyer’s first-inning grounder, instead of throwing home, allowed the Twins first run to score.
“Longo had an option of throwing home or throwing to first base,” Maddon said. “I think he could’ve had the runner at home.”
Entering the game tied for the American League lead with a .987 fielding percentage, the Rays have been strong defensively all season.
But in a tight game on Tuesday, a couple missed plays made a big difference.
“Those are two runs there that we could’ve gotten,” Maddon said. “But again, when you lose a 3-2 game, you’re going to dissect a lot of these little minutiae of the game. We need to be able to outhit some mistakes on occasion too.”
In his first start after being named an All-Star, Shields went six innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on six hits. He also had five strikeouts against three walks and picked off two runners.
Shields faced just one batter over the minimum in his last four innings of work.
“I was fighting myself the whole entire game,” Shields said. “I minimized my damage the best I could. Unfortunately, it wasn’t good enough tonight. It is frustrating. I think overall we’re pitching the ball pretty well, we just need that timely hitting. Sometimes, that’s just the way the game goes.”
Twins starter Scott Baker was dominant through five innings, giving up just one unearned run on three hits and one walk with three strikeouts.
After tossing only 62 pitches, Baker left due to a mild right elbow strain. Baker said he began to feel discomfort in the third, but did not leave until after the fifth.
“Probably the last couple innings I was just trying to spot up and hit my spots,” Baker said. “I don’t think it affected my pitching by any means. It was just uncomfortable. Honestly, I almost didn’t say anything and continued to pitch, but it’s just not smart.”
The Rays did not fare much better against the Twins bullpen, though, as they managed just one run on four hits over the last four innings.
Final Vote candidate Ben Zobrist was the biggest bright spot offensively for the Rays, going 3-for-4 with a double and a stolen base. Zobrist also scored a run on a Twins’ error.
The Rays made things interesting against Twins closer Matt Capps in the ninth, forcing him out of the game in favor of lefty Glen Perkins.
B.J. Upton led off the inning with a solo homer to left, and Casey Kotchman singled to bring the potential tying run to the plate with none out. Capps then got Sean Rodriguez and Sam Fuld to fly out, but walked Kelly Shoppach.
Perkins came in and got Johnny Damon to ground out to end the game. Replays showed Damon appeared to have beaten the throw to first, which would have brought Zobrist to the plate with the bases loaded.
“Did you guys see the replays?” Damon asked reporters. “I felt like it was pretty obvious. … I crossed the bag, I was like, ‘This is awesome, we’re getting our hottest hitter up here.’ Then as you could see in my reaction, I was stunned.”
Jordan Schelling is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Missed chances hurt Rays against Twins
MINNEAPOLIS — Early in Monday’s game, the Rays were hitting the ball hard, and it looked as though they would have their way with Twins lefty Brian Duensing.
But in the fifth, Duensing took control and cruised for his second career shutout. He shut down the Rays throughout the game but was especially impressive late in the Rays’ 7-0 loss to the Twins at Target Field.
“We had chances, and I really thought we were swinging the bats well early,” manager Joe Maddon said. “Once we got to about the fifth inning, I think it was, we stopped hitting anything well. But we had our moments.”
One of those moments came in the first inning.
Johnny Damon led off the game with a single, and Sean Rodriguez followed with another. After Evan Longoria flied out to left, B.J. Upton walked to load the bases with one out.
The Rays were in position to take an early lead, but Duensing got Justin Ruggiano to ground into an inning-ending double play instead.
An inning later, Casey Kotchman singled to lead off the inning, but Duensing quickly got two outs on another double-play ball from Kelly Shoppach.
The last of the Rays’ chances came in the fourth. Upton led off with a single but was called out as he attempted to steal second base. Replays showed that he may have beaten the tag.
“If that play had been called differently, it could’ve been a different moment for us right there,” Maddon said.
Kotchman followed with a single that would likely have scored Upton, and Shoppach then walked, setting up an opportunity for All-Star right fielder Matt Joyce to deliver a two-out RBI. Joyce hit the ball hard toward the hole on the right side, but Alexi Casilla made a diving stop at second base to save a run.
Had Joyce hit the ball a foot or two in either direction, it could have been the start of a rally.
“Yeah, absolutely, I think it might have got us going,” Joyce said. “Obviously, it would have put a run on the board. I don’t know if it would have scored two, but you know what? We hit a lot of balls hard today, [we] just hit them right at ’em.”
Whereas the Rays were unable to take advantage of their early opportunities, the Twins jumped on lefty David Price in the second.
With a runner on and one out in the second, Price gave up a single, a walk and a double to the bottom third of the Twins’ order, putting three runs on the board. In the fourth, he surrendered a solo home run to fellow All-Star Michael Cuddyer, a 443-foot blast into the second deck in left.
Price finished the afternoon with four runs allowed on five hits, six strikeouts and one walk. After Cuddyer’s home run, he settled in nicely, retiring nine in a row and 11 of the last 12 batters he faced.
“It’s disappointing,” Price said. “I got outpitched. … I felt like I threw the ball fine, [but] it’s not good enough. I gave up four runs in six innings.”
As did Price, Duensing looked much better in the second half of his outing than in the first.
After walking Elliot Johnson to lead off the fifth, Duensing retired 10 batters in a row and 15 of the last 16 Rays to come to the plate. Over the last five innings, the Rays had just two baserunners, one on Johnson’s walk and the other on an eighth-inning single by Rodriguez.
“It’s frustrating,” Joyce said. “It’s frustrating to keep going and keep grinding through it.
“For me it’s been a frustrating month. You hit hard balls right at people, and they don’t fall, and then your next at-bat, they make a perfect pitch or something, or you miss your pitch. It’s just one of those things. You really have to grind it out.”
While the Rays were struggling to even reach base late in the game, Twins third baseman Danny Valencia connected for a three-run blast off right-hander Adam Russell in the eighth, giving Duensing even more wiggle room when as he returned for the ninth.
Duensing, who beat the Rays in April at Tropicana Field, delivered his best outing of the season, giving up just six hits over nine shutout innings, walking four and recording seven. Against the Rays this season, hw is 2-0 with a 1.13 ERA, having allowed just two runs in 16 innings.
It was his second career shutout, with the other coming on Aug. 14, 2010, when he tossed a three-hitter against the A’s.
“I was real excited [with] how it turned out,” Duensing said. “It didn’t start as well as I wanted it to. But the defense made great plays behind me to keep me in it. And the next thing you know, the offense started scoring runs against David Price, who has pretty good stuff.”
Jordan Schelling is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Rays notebook, 7/4
Final Vote candidate Zobrist gets a break
MINNEAPOLIS — On Monday, one day after being named a candidate for the All-Star Game Final Vote Sponsored by Sprint, second baseman Ben Zobrist got a day off to rest.
It was Zobrist’s first day out of the lineup since May 22, and just the third time this season that he has not been on manager Joe Maddon’s lineup card.
“[He has] just a little bit of a head cold kind of thing,” Maddon said. “He could’ve played, but we talked about it and I said, ‘I don’t think it’s a good idea.’ I’ve been looking to give him a day off anyway, so this is almost perfect.”
In 83 games, Zobrist has batted .256 with a .342 on-base percentage and 27 doubles, which ties him with Red Sox first baseman Adrian Gonzalez for the Major League lead.
As Zobrist rested, third baseman Evan Longoria was back in the lineup after sitting out on Sunday for the first time in nearly a month.
“These guys have been playing every day and doing a good job of it,” Maddon said. “They’ve been grinding it out well, but we’ve got to take care of them at some point. I know the break’s coming up, but I want us to finish strong in the first half, too.”
Maddon pondering post-All-Star break rotation
MINNEAPOLIS — Manager Joe Maddon has thought about the club’s first two games after the All-Star break, but he has yet to settle on who will take the mound against the Red Sox.
It could be All-Stars David Price and James Shields on an extra day of rest each, but Price’s participation in the All-Star Game could alter that plan. Shields will not pitch for the American League, so he remains likely to pitch in one of those games against Boston.
“It could switch up, but we’re still debating a couple of things,” Maddon said. “Shields is good, but [the question is] how David gets utilized.”
Maddon expects to talk with AL manager Ron Washington by the end of the week regarding Price and how Washington plans to use him.
He definitely expects the lefty to see some action against the National League.
Rays poised to witness history
MINNEAPOLIS — On their current road trip, the Rays will face two players — Jim Thome and Derek Jeter — on the verge of reaching major milestones.
As the Rays opened a series against the Twins on Monday, Thome sat just five home runs away from being the eighth player in Major League history to hit 600. And as he rejoined the Yankees on Monday after spending nearly three weeks on the disabled list, Jeter was just six hits shy of becoming the 28th member of the 3,000-hit club.
So the pregame question for manager Joe Maddon was, Which accomplishment is more impressive?
“I’d say probably 600 home runs is more difficult to achieve,” Maddon said. “If you look at the number of 3,000-hit guys, does that exceed the number of 600-home run guys? I’m going to say from that perspective, I think that would be the one way to look at it.
“But both are awesome accomplishments, and [they are] both really deserving, classy individuals. I’ve got a lot of respect for both guys.”
The other question was what Maddon thought about having either milestone come against his ballclub.
Maddon was there on Sept. 6, 1995, when Cal Ripken Jr. played in his 2,131st consecutive game, passing Lou Gehrig for the all-time record. Then the Angels’ bench coach, Maddon saw the Orioles get a boost from Ripken’s accomplishment.
“My biggest concern with that was the momentum, or the energy about the team because of that happening,” he said. “That’s my bigger concern. It’s not the fact that he may get it against us, it’s all the complementary surrounding components that may benefit the Yankees or may benefit the Twins if that were to happen against us.”
Jordan Schelling is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Rays beat, 4/27
Shields honored to be AL Player of the Week
MINNEAPOLIS — It’s not every day that you throw complete games in consecutive starts, so Rays starter James Shields had an idea he’d be considered for the American League Player of the Week Award.
Still, it was a big honor and a bit of a surprise when Shields heard the news.
“It’s exciting,” Shields said. “There’s a lot of good players that had good weeks, so it’s definitely an honor. To be able to be the player of the week for last week is pretty nice.
“I would imagine with two complete games in one week, I definitely thought I was going to be up there. I didn’t know if I was going to win, I’m not too familiar with what everyone is doing around the league. I saw some of the numbers that some other players put up and it was pretty impressive, so I’m honored to have it.”
Shields was just the third Rays pitcher to throw consecutive complete-game wins, joining Rolando Arrojo in 1998 and Albie Lopez in 2000. With left fielder Sam Fuld being a co-winner last week, the Rays have back-to-back winners for the second time, dating back to Scott Kazmir and Carl Crawford in May 2006.
The rest of Tampa Bay’s rotation has been impressive as well, having thrown seven or more innings in 11 of its last 12 games. During that span, the starters have accumulated a 2.46 ERA.
“Over the last few years, I think our starting rotation has done a great job of feeding off each other,” Shields said. “The way [David] Price has been throwing and Wade [Davis], it definitely helps out. You have a little friendly competition between each other and we’re all rooting for each other.”
Maddon sees Fuld garnering All-Star votes
MINNEAPOLIS — After taking advantage of the opportunity given to him this season, left fielder Sam Fuld is now on the 2011 All-Star Game ballot. Rays manager Joe Maddon thinks he’ll get plenty of votes, too.
“I think you’re going to be surprised by how many people vote for him, for two reasons,” Maddon said. “He’s playing really well. You look at his numbers, they’re pretty darn good. You watch every night on ESPN, you see the highlight film, etc.
“But I think beyond that, I think there’s a lot of average Americans that can identify with this fellow, and how he plays the game also I think matters. He’s hard not to like.”
Fuld, who has quickly become a fan favorite for his incredible catches in the outfield and the energy with which he plays, has started 19 consecutive games for the Rays including Wednesday night, at four different positions. Entering the series with the Twins, the Rays were 11-6 since moving Fuld to the leadoff spot on April 7.
Maddon has been pleased with Fuld’s production, suggesting his energy at the top of the order, along with veteran Johnny Damon batting second, has helped turn the team around.
“My biggest concern is keeping him strong,” Maddon said. “I think that’s the X factor there. He’s always going to tell me that he’s well and he can play. We’re going to have to choose the right times to sit him down to maximize his strength, though. I think that, resting him properly, is going to permit him to play, not at quite the level you’re seeing now, but at a very high level for the whole season.”
Rays not thrilled with day-night twin bill
MINNEAPOLIS — When it was announced the Rays and Twins would play a day-night doubleheader Thursday to make up Tuesday’s game, manager Joe Maddon and his club were not shy about expressing their unhappiness with the plan.
Between the poor weather conditions and the late-night travel back to St. Petersburg, the idea of a July doubleheader during the Rays’ next trip to the Twin Cities sounded much more favorable.
Before Wednesday’s game, Maddon joked that he might just spend the night at Target Field due to the schedule. On a more serious note, he also shared some details on the team’s plans that were in place to accommodate for the day-night doubleheader.
The first those involved switching the order of starters Jeff Niemann and Jeremy Hellickson, to have Hellickson start Game 1 and Niemann the nightcap.
“It’s just something that’s part of our research stuff,” Maddon said. “Pitching Helly in the first game, in the day game; Jeff’s a little more comfortable in night games. That’s a big body to get going by noon, so we don’t want to tempt biology or whatever.”
For Niemann, pitching in Game 2 gives him the chance to treat it more like any other start.
“I’m probably going to try to get here around game time I guess for the first game, and just hang out,” Niemann said. “I really don’t like hanging around the hotel by myself, I’d rather come here and be around the guys.
“Fortunately for me, it’s going to be a normal day. For the rest of these guys, it’s going to be a long day.”
As for their starter Sunday against the Angels, it will depend on if the Rays need to pitch Andy Sonnanstine in either of Thursday’s games. If night, he’s expected to start Sunday. If he’s unavailable, Maddon said they’d likely bring someone up for the start.
Friday’s starter, lefty David Price, is scheduled to fly home on his own Thursday afternoon during the first game. Price is leaving early in order to get a normal night’s rest before his start.
“That’s just because they’ll be getting in so late that night,” Price said. “Game’s done at 10 p.m., leaving by 11 p.m., pick up the wheels at 12 a.m., which is really 1 o’clock our time, 2 1/2-hour flight, means you’re getting to your house by 4 or 5 a.m.
“I’ll be deeply asleep by then.”
Maddon also noted he had a lineup in mind for Thursday’s first game, and how the game went would dictate his plans for the nightcap.
For at least the first game, he does not plan to use Johnny Damon in the outfield. Damon may end up out there in the Game 2, though, especially with Maddon’s concerns about overworking Sam Fuld.
“With the weather the way it is, with the way the guys have been rested, and with the way we can move a couple guys around — again Sam would be the guy that I’d be most concerned with — I think that they’re all going to be OK and I’m not going to have to worry about that [Thursday],” Maddon said. “Over the weekend maybe, day games after night games, things like that — the two day games after the night game [Friday] bother me more than anything.”
Jordan Schelling is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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