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Shields Ready For Angels, Whenever He Gets Them

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By TONY FABRIZIO | The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 18, 2008

ST. PETERSBURG James Shields doesn't care when the second game of the Rays' series with the AL West-leading Los Angeles Angels is played.

He says he'll be ready to pitch whether it's tonight as scheduled or Wednesday as part of a doubleheader.

"I like to not even think about my starts until I get to the park anyway, so it's going to be the same stuff," Shields said. "I'm just trying to get my family put together and be good to go."

A native of California who is more accustomed to earthquakes than hurricanes, Shields was trying to figure out whether he would have to evacuate the house he rents in St. Petersburg because of approaching Tropical Storm Fay.

Tonight, weather permitting, the 6-foor-4 right-hander will try to continue his mastery at Tropicana Field, where he holds an AL-best home earned-run average of 2.21.

Shields (10-7, 3.75 ERA overall) has started twice against the Angels this year, once at home and once on the road, with varying results.

In the home game May 9, he beat Jon Garland with the second one-hitter in Rays history. Shields faced only one batter over the minimum, allowing just a third-inning single by Brandon Wood, and he retired the final 17 batters he faced. Tampa Bay won on a two-run walk-off home run by Evan Longoria.

At Anaheim on June 10, with a slew of family and friends attending, Shields took the decision in a 6-1 loss.

It'll be hard for Shields to duplicate what he did to the Angels at home this time.

"They've got a little bit different lineup now," Shields said, referring largely to a trade that brought first basman Mark Teixeira from Atlanta for first baseman Casey Kotchman of Seminole and minor-league pitcher Steve Marek.

"They're playing World Series baseball right now. I'm going to try to keep them to a minimum, and hopefully we'll score more runs than they do."

The oldest of the Rays starters at 26, Shields is two wins shy of the career-high 12 he recorded last year. That's largely thanks to his 7-1 record at home. He has not pitched well on the road, posting a 3-6 mark with a 5.84 ERA.

Although he got a win at Seattle during the Rays' just-completed 10-game road trip, he had a tough outing in his most recent start last Thursday at Oakland.

In that game, he lasted only five innings (his shortest since May 3 excluding an ejection-shortened start at Boston on June 5). He walked a career-high five batters and allowed four runs. The first two Oakland batters tagged him with a triple and home run.

Rays manager Joe Maddon, citing Shields' competitiveness and success at home, says the pitcher will eventually find success away from Tropicana Field.

"I have all the faith, regardless of how much he has struggled to this point, he's going to be pitching for many years … and he's going to be dynamite on the road also," Maddon said. "It's just that … he's very comfortable in this building."

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