St. Petersburg, FL (Sports Network) - James Shields pitched eight solid frames
and Tampa Bay welcomed back star third baseman Evan Longoria with a 4-1
victory over Toronto to open a three-game set.
Longoria returned from a lengthy hiatus after suffering a partially torn
hamstring on April 30 with the mounting pressure of boasting a stagnant
offense in the throes of a 21-inning scoreless streak. He batted clean-up and
finished 1-for-3 with a sacrifice fly.
Shields (10-7) surrendered just one run on two hits with six strikeouts and
one walk. Fernando Rodney struggled with his command at times, but escaped the
ninth unscathed to post his 33rd save. In the process, Rodney extended his
scoreless-inning streak to 22, a new franchise record for a relief pitcher.
Desmond Jennings had two hits and scored twice for the Rays, who snapped a
two-game slide.
J.A. Happ (0-1), making his first start as a Blue Jay after four relief
appearances, surrendered four runs on seven hits with five strikeouts and one
walk over 4 1/3 frames. Colby Rasmus hit a solo home run for Toronto, which
saw a brief two-game winning streak come to an end.
GAME NOTES:
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