Shields tuned up, set to go for Rays

Since RHP James Shields will face division foe Baltimore in Tuesday's season opener, Manager Joe Maddon didn't want him anywhere near the Orioles in Thursday's Grapefruit League home finale.

So Shields completed his final tune-up in a minor-league game. He pitched four innings (56 pitches) and allowed four hits and one earned run.

"It was really good," Shields said. "The ball was coming out of my hand good, like the last outing. ... I'm feeling good about all my pitches. I'm ready to go for the season."

Maddon said he likes the adjustments he's seen by the club's No. 1 pitcher this spring.

"He knows he had to get better at a couple of things, to sharpen up from last year," Maddon said. "The big thing is his fastball command. He's a fastball pitcher for me. ... All those other pitches set up really nicely off of that."

Maddon said Shields has "gotten a better understanding of his delivery," ... "how to put it back together quickly when it goes awry."

Feeling comfortable

Even though the Rays lost to the Orioles 4-3 in their Charlotte Sports Park spring finale, they clinched the best record in Grapefruit League play at 19-8-2.

Evan Longoria hit his fifth home run of the spring, and Carlos Pena, Jason Bartlett (3-for-4) and Reid Brignac each had doubles in the losing cause.

LHP Carlos Hernandez gave up three runs in 41/2 innings of relief, including a two-run homer to Robert Andino.

Longoria, who is hitting .296 with 17 RBIs, said he is pleased with how he's finishing up the spring.

"I feel comfortable - that's the biggest thing for me," Longoria said. "The results really don't matter to me, I just want to feel comfortable in the box going into the year, and I felt like I did a pretty good job throughout the spring trying to get locked in."

In a pinch

DH Pat Burrell has played 65 innings in the outfield this spring, perhaps more than expected, while the Rays spread the DH at-bats among several players. He's made some catches, too, including one on a Ty Wigginton drive Thursday.

While Maddon reiterated it's "unlikely" the former Phillies' starting LF will play the field much during the regular season, Burrell has given the Rays something to think about.

"He's shown me better than I had known," Maddon said. "I only really had seen him in the (2008) World Series, and he made one great throw ... and almost got B.J. (Upton) at the plate.

"I'm watching him now, and he is mechanically a good outfielder. He just lacks overall foot speed. But he does a lot of other things well as an outfielder. So he has opened my eyes a bit with that."

Finishing up

Maddon said "everybody will play" in the final two spring exhibitions tonight against the Mets at Tropicana Field and Saturday at Durham against the Triple-A Durham Bulls.

Matt Garza will make his final spring start tonight, and Jeff Niemann will get the ball Saturday. David Price and Wade Davis, slotted as Nos. 4 and 5 in the rotation, will pitch in a simulated game Monday at Tropicana Field.

About tonight, Maddon said he likes the idea of playing at least one exhibition game in the big-league park to get reacclimated to the surroundings. He envisions ending a future spring with a four-team doubleheader at the Trop.

Odds and ends

TV analyst/writer Peter Gammons, picking for MLB.com, tabbed B.J. Upton for AL MVP and Sean Rodriguez for AL Rookie of the Year honors. The only problem with the latter pick is Rodriguez, who has played 71 games with the Angels, is not a rookie. ... Four-star admiral Eric Thor Olson, Commander of the U.S. Special Operations Command, will throw out the first pitch in Tuesday's opener. ... The Home Plate Club, a 185-seat section behind home plate at Tropicana Field, is now the Avantair Home Plate Club. The new title sponsor (and presenting partner of the visitors' clubhouse) is a publicly traded stand-alone private air craft operator.