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Walk-Off Winners

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By CARTER GADDIS

The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 10, 2008

Updated: 05/10/2008 12:13 am

ST. PETERSBURG - The celebratory scrum at Tropicana Field slid like a single, living entity from home plate to the pitcher's mound, with rookie Evan Longoria lost in a joyful heap of bouncing Rays.

At some point during the mayhem, Longoria - whose two-run homer off Angels reliever Justin Speier had just given Tampa Bay a 2-0, walk-off victory - found Rays pitcher James Shields and wrapped him in a bear hug.

"I couldn't see anybody in the big pile, but as soon as I saw him, man, I was just real pumped for him," Longoria said. "He pitched his butt off."

Longoria's fourth major-league home run was the catalyst for the postgame antics and earned him a Gatorade shower and a shaving cream pie in the face during his on-field interviews. But it was Shields (4-2) and one of the best all-around defensive efforts of the season that got the Rays to that point.

The two-hour, 13-minute masterpiece ranked at or near the top of pitching performances all-time for the Rays.

Shields needed only 92 pitches - a team record for a complete game - and didn't allow a base runner after hitting Angels shortstop Erick Aybar on the left hand with a cutter leading off the fourth.

He faced 28 batters, one more than the minimum. Brandon Wood had the only hit, a third-inning single. After hitting Aybar, Shields got Vladimir Guerrero to ground into a double play.

No other Angel reached base, a streak of 17 consecutive batters to finish the game.

It was the second one-hit shutout in team history, matching Joe Kennedy against the Tigers on May 2, 2003. It was Shields' second home shutout in a row, coming 12 days after he blanked the Red Sox on two hits.

And Shields (eight strikeouts, no walks) did it Friday on the heels of his shortest and worst outing of the season, in which he allowed seven runs on 10 hits in 32/3 innings against the Red Sox at Fenway Park.

"I think I was more efficient today," Shields said. "I think my first-pitch strikes were a lot better today. When I can get ahead in the count early, I can get to my change-up a little quicker. That's what happened today."

Rays manager Joe Maddon said Shields would have pitched the 10th inning if the game had not ended as it did. Maddon also suspected coming in that Shields might pitch a whale of a game.

"You could just see it in his face," Maddon said. "He did not like what happened in Boston. And that's one thing I really appreciate about him. That's why he is as good as he is, and that's why he's going to continue to get better."

Shields leads the majors with two shutouts. The only other Rays pitchers to record two shutouts in a season were Bobby Witt (1999) and Rolando Arrojo (1998).

Longoria, who went 5-for-32 on the nine-game road trip, connected on a 1-1 sinker from Speier, who had allowed a leadoff single by B.J. Upton. Both are right-handed batters; Speier entered the game having held right-handers to an .094 average (3-for-32).

Angels starter Jon Garland (eight scoreless innings) might have been in Shields' shoes, enjoying a shutout victory, if not for several highlight-reel defensive plays by Tampa Bay. Upton and Carl Crawford made diving catches in the early going, and Longoria made two sure-handed plays in the ninth, including a stop on a Gary Matthews Jr. grounder that looked liked it was headed for extra bases down the line.

The Rays matched the franchise record with their seventh consecutive home victory, including three games at Disney. This is the latest in a season they've been three games better than .500.

"We're expecting to win on a nightly basis," Maddon said. "We're at that point. The whole vibe has been very good. We almost feel like if we can keep it close, we'll be able to do something at the end. And those are good feelings. That's how you get to play at the end of the year."

Reporter Carter Gaddis can be reached at (813) 259-8291 or igaddis@tampatrib.com.

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