Santana matchup excites Shields

James Shields' changeup is his bread-and-butter pitch, but few other big-leaguers are known for the off-speed pitch like the man Shields will face today, Mets lefty Johan Santana.

Today's showdown between the two at Citi Field should be a showcase of keeping hitters off-balance, and Shields admitted to being excited about matching wits with a master.

"Changeup vs. changeup - we'll see how it works out," he said.

Shields, who will be making his 100th big-league start, isn't necessarily looking forward to having to take his swings against Santana's change in this interleague affair. But it will be interesting to get a closer look at a pitch he has long admired from afar.

"When I was in the minor leagues and he was having success in the big leagues, there weren't too many guys who had a good changeup in the big leagues, and there still aren't - there's just a handful of guys that that's their pitch," Shields said. "So I always looked up to him and kind of saw how he pitched and stuff. I've got a lot of respect for him."

Zorilla conquers

With five at-bats Thursday, Ben Zobrist reached the number of plate appearances he needed to officially qualify for MLB's statistical leaderboards and immediately took over as the AL leader in slugging percentage (.665) and on-base plus slugging (1.080).

Only the Cardinals' Albert Pujols (.689 and 1.133) had better numbers in the majors entering play Friday. That's pretty impressive company, but Zobrist took it in stride.

"It's been only two months or something," he said. "It's such a long season, and I've obviously been on a hot streak and I want to just try to keep it going as long as possible. As far as keeping up this pace for a long time, that's not something that I think about."

Pedro watch

Free agent RHP Pedro Martinez threw for scouts in the Dominican Republic on Friday and the Rays were once again represented - along with the Angels, Yankees, Rangers, Brewers and Cardinals, according to SI.com.

But that doesn't mean the Rays are any likelier to sign the 37-year-old than they have indicated previously. Executive vice president Andrew Friedman made that relatively clear in commenting on the matter for the first time.

"We have a responsibility to do our due diligence," Friedman said Friday. "I think a lot more is being made of it publicly than really exists."

First impressions

There didn't seem a bad review to be found in the Rays' clubhouse as they got their first look at Citi Field, with many saying they liked it much more than the new Yankee Stadium.

"That's a nice ballpark, boys and girls," Manager Joe Maddon said upon emerging from the clubhouse to see the field for the first time. "Pretty cool. I'm digging it. Nice vibe."

The most prevalent assessment seemed to be that the Mets' new home feels more like a ballpark than the towering edifice in the Bronx.

"I just walked outside and looked at it and it's a beautiful stadium," Shields said. "They did a great job. I think this stadium and Yankee Stadium are two totally different looks."

Farmhands banned

Two minor-leaguers with the Rays' Venezuelan Summer League team were suspended 50 games each for violating MLB's drug policy. OF Franklin Alcala and LHP Carlos Orasma tested positive for metabolites of the performance-enhancing substance Nandrolone, according to an MLB release.

"We're very supportive of Major League Baseball's policy," Friedman said. "This is something that we take very seriously. We have a lot of measures in place to educate our players, especially in Latin America, about the policy and the negative effects that this can have both personally and professionally."

Odds and ends

RHP Chad Bradford, who likely will be activated from the disabled list next week, is slated to pitch for Durham today in his seventh rehab appearance. ... Today's Rays-Mets broadcast on Fox will be seen by 72 percent of the country.

Marc Lancaster