Shields rebounds with solid two innings

Pitcher made quick work of the Reds on Tuesday in his second spring appearance.

By EDUARDO A. ENCINA
Published March 7, 2007

ST. PETERSBURG - James Shields made quick work of the Reds on Tuesday in his second spring appearance.

The right-hander retired six of the seven batters he faced, striking out two and allowing one hit, mixing a cutter with his fastball and changeup to keep Cincinnati hitters off balance. It was a much easier outing than Shields' 18-pitch, one-inning debut Friday against the Yankees.

"I think today I was a little more in synch with my pitches, and I was more consistent throwing strikes," Shields said. "After you get that first one over with, absolutely you feel more comfortable. I think I'm going on the right track."

After retiring the side in the first, Shields yielded a leadoff single to Adam Dunn to open the second, but he recovered to strike out Jeff Conine looking and Mark Bellhorn swinging before inducing a flyout to center.

"His focus was great today," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "I like the tenaciousness of his appearance right now. That's really going to help him go far, because I think his stuff is there. If his focus is good, he's going to pitch well."

NO SURPRISES: Even though Josh Hamilton didn't make the trip to play against his former team, the outfielder's early success was the subject of plenty of talk. Reds general manager Wayne Krivsky had an easy explanation for the early spring success of Hamilton, who is 9-for-16 after five games.

"He's not your average guy talentwise," Krivsky said. "He's been swinging all winter. He got down here early to get acclimated. ... He's taking good at-bats. He's putting the balls in play. I don't think he's swung and missed very much. He's used the whole field to hit. He's not trying to pull everything."

Hamilton was originally on the travel list to play Tuesday at Progress Energy Park, but the Reds gave him the day off. Hamilton is expected to play tonight against the Yankees at Legends Field in Tampa.

GETTING TECHY: Five Rays pitchers participated in a trial run of the XOS SportMotion system, a video testing program that turned the Naimoli Complex into a film studio that put pitchers in suits full of sensors. Similar to the technology that simulates video games, pitchers were able to study their deliveries through animation.

"It tracks how your legs work, how your whole body works, how your arm works," RHP Jeff Niemann said. "They can put two pitches side-by-side and put them on top of each other and say, 'Okay, that one felt good, what was different between that good pitch and that bad pitch.' That's the biggest thing you get out of that. It's pretty neat."

SIXTH-INNING STUMBLE: A one-out hit batsman unraveled the sixth for Rays RHP Gary Glover, who went on to allow four hits in a three-run inning that was the difference in the Rays' 3-1 loss, dropping Tampa Bay to 1-4 this spring.

"We have to score more runs than that," Maddon said. "We only gave up three, and I thought we pitched pretty well. Then again, I will also defend the at-bats. We're working on some things at the plate. We're starting to work better at-bats."

MISCELLANY: Injured RHPs Shinji Mori shoulder and Doug Waechter (shoulder surgery) were reassigned to minor-league camp. ... No. 5 starter candidate Brian Stokes pitched two scoreless innings, allowing one hit. ... Maddon was impressed with Andy Sonnanstine's scoreless eighth. ... Rays 3B Akinori Iwamura reached base for the first time this spring with a walk.

Eduardo A. Encina can be reached at eencina@sptimes.com.

[Last modified March 7, 2007, 00:50:41]