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Rays/MLB

Tickets he got; help he did not

ANGELS 9, RAYS 2: Friends and family see James Shields receive little support from his offense or the umpires.

By MARC TOPKIN
Published July 16, 2006

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ANAHEIM, Calif. — Devil Rays rookie right-hander James Shields sought advice, he improvised, he made adjustments on the run just to make sure he did everything he could.

And that was just to get tickets for dozens of friends and relatives after finding out late Friday his scheduled start had been moved up a day and he was pitching in front of his hometown fans on Saturday night.

On the mound, Shields wasn't nearly as successful as the Rays lost to the Angels 9-2.

Shields didn't pitch that poorly over six-plus innings — two of the six runs he was charged with came on Vladimir Guerrero's grand slam off Chad Harville, and two others were the result of two extremely questionable calls at first base — but he didn't do well enough.

"It was a good experience, a good time out there," Shields said. "I was hoping it went the other way, though."

Shield didn't get much help. After being shut out on five hits Friday, the Rays (39-52) didn't do much better Saturday against Ervin Santana and two relievers, netting two runs and five hits before an Angel Stadium sellout crowd of 44,125. In their first two games without Aubrey Huff, they have scored two runs and are hitting .172 (10-for-58).

Shields, bumped up a day when All-Star Scott Kazmir was scratched after Friday's game due to a stiff neck, grew up in the Santa Clarita valley town of Newhall, about 60 miles north of Anaheim.

Even with the late change in plans, he had a large following sprinkled throughout the stands, rounding up nearly 50 tickets and expecting dozens more to show up on their own.

It was the first time Shields pitched in Anaheim as a major-leaguer but not his first time on the mound at the stadium. In June 1999, he pitched the last four innings to lead his Hart High School team to the California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section Division II championship.

"He did a great job with the whole thing, and I thought he pitched well," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "He did a nice job."

Guerrero put the Angels up 1-0 in the first by singling home Orlando Cabrera for the 1,000th RBI of his career.

The Rays went ahead by scoring two runs in the third in a blur — back-to-back triples by Julio Lugo and Carl Crawford and a sacrifice fly by Rocco Baldelli.

The Angels, who have won 10 of their past 11, came right back.

Shields' 2-and-1 changeup to rookie Mike Napoli ended up in the leftfield seats, and what was doubly painful was that Garret Anderson was on base as the result of a bad call by umpire Bill Welke, who ruled Travis Lee was off first base when he reached for a throw. Replays showed otherwise.

Another questionable call by Welke on a similar play in the fifth cost the Rays another run — Chone Figgins was ruled safe on a bunt single as Lee reached for the throw. Figgins, who leads the AL with 35 steals, took advantage of former teammate Josh Paul — who has thrown out only 3 of 24 potential basestealers — to swipe second and third in a three-pitch span then scored on Cabrera's sacrifice fly.

"Kind of tough breaks for us," Lee said. "It's disappointing."

The score was 4-2 when Shields left after allowing two singles to start the seventh, and Harville took things from there. Maddon gambled by walking Macier Izturism and when Cabrera didn't hit into a double play, it brought up Guerrero, who crushed Harville's hanging slider for a grand slam.

 

[Last modified July 16, 2006, 06:58:13]