| SEASON | CAREER |
| W7 | 13 |
| L8 | 17 |
| G22 | 60 |
| IP120.1 | 219.0 |
| BB45 | 83 |
| SO73 | 123 |
| SEASON | CAREER |
| W11 | 83 |
| L7 | 70 |
| G25 | 210 |
| IP167.1 | 1394.0 |
| BB46 | 328 |
| SO161 | 1188 |
James Shields has the undesirable task of following David Price in Tampa Bay's rotation, but lately Shields has been doing a pretty good impression of the Rays' ace.
Shields looks to win a fourth straight decision Wednesday when the Rays complete their series against the visiting Kansas City Royals .
Wednesday's starters have a tough act to follow after the performances by Price and Luke Hochevar in the Royals' 1-0, 10-inning victory Tuesday.
The two starters each went eight scoreless innings, combining for 18 strikeouts while allowing four hits.
Eric Hosmer drove in the lone run with a two-out single that scored Jeff Francoeur , who had advanced to second on an error by Ben Zobrist .
"You don't see that very often anymore, not that dominant on both sides," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "You knew there wasn't going to be much offense going into it. You were hoping you could scratch out one run, maybe two, and somebody's going to make a mistake."
Failing to help Price earn his 17th win, the Rays (68-55) finished with two hits. The loss snapped Tampa Bay's five-game winning streak, during which it averaged 8.4 runs and hit .318.
"Anytime you play a game like that and you lose 1-0, of course it's no fun," manager Joe Maddon said. "But overall we played a really good game. We pitched great once again. You can't be an oil painting every night, man."
Tampa Bay stayed four games back of New York in the AL East and is a game up on Baltimore for the AL's top wild-card spot.
While the Rays have been on a roll, the Royals have quietly won 14 of 21. Hosmer is hitting .409 over the last eight games, raising his season average up to .237 - his highest since July 2.
Kansas City (55-67), which also was limited to one run in the series opener, may not have much better luck getting the offense going against Shields (11-7, 4.03 ERA).
Shields is 3-0 with a 1.80 ERA in his last four starts. He gave up three runs on two homers over six innings of a 12-3 win over Los Angeles on Friday.
The right-hander, who was the subject of trade rumors before the deadline, was 1-3 with a 6.15 ERA in a seven-start stretch before the deadline.
"The only difference is the numbers," Shields said. "I mean, I've been pitching the same way and I've taken the same approach in every single game. So I don't think it's more relaxing now - because we're fighting for the wild card and fighting for the AL East, so we have to win every game."
Shields is 4-1 with a 1.63 ERA in five home starts against the Royals.
Kansas City will counter with Luis Mendoza (7-8, 4.26), who is looking to win his third straight start.
Mendoza is 3-1 with a 3.58 ERA in four starts in August. He allowed two runs and four hits while striking out six in seven innings of a 4-2 win over Chicago on Friday.
"What he's doing is attacking the strike zone with good natural movement on his fastball, which is tough to center," Yost said. "He's been very effective with his curveball and his changeup. You add all that up, he gets quick outs, goes deep into the games."
Mendoza will face the Rays for the first time.
@
AVG
HRRUNSSBSOBBOBPSLGOPS
VS.
| HITTERS | AB | AVG | H | HR | RBI | BB | SO | OBP | OPS | SLG |
| Yuniesky Betancourt | 22 | .227 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .261 | .625 | .364 |
| Billy Butler | 18 | .389 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 3 | .421 | .921 | .500 |
| Jarrod Dyson | 3 | .667 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .667 | 2.000 | 1.333 |
| Alcides Escobar | 3 | .667 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .667 | 1.334 | .667 |
| Jeff Francoeur | 3 | .333 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .500 | .833 | .333 |
| Chris Getz | 7 | .286 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .286 | .715 | .429 |
| Alex Gordon | 19 | .158 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | .158 | .316 | .158 |
| Eric Hosmer | 3 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .250 | .250 | .000 |
| Mitch Maier | 2 | .500 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .667 | 1.167 | .500 |
| Mike Moustakas | 3 | .667 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .667 | 1.334 | .667 |
| Brayan Pena | 5 | .400 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .500 | .900 | .400 |
VS.
| HITTERS | AB | AVG | H | HR | RBI | BB | SO | OBP | OPS | SLG |
| Matt Joyce | 1 | 1.000 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 3.000 | 2.000 |
| Jose Molina | 1 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Sean Rodriguez | 1 | 1.000 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 3.000 | 2.000 |
| Luke Scott | 2 | .500 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .500 | 1.000 | .500 |
 Kansas City Royals |
|||
| Date | Player | Status | Injury |
| August 18, 2012 | Chris Getz | 15-Day DL | Broken left thumb |
| August 17, 2012 | Chris Getz | Day-to-Day | Left game - fractured left thumb |
| July 28, 2012 | Mike Moustakas | Day-to-Day | Left game - sprained right knee |
| July 05, 2012 | Luke Hochevar | Day-to-Day | Sprained right ankle |
| June 18, 2012 | Chris Getz | 15-Day DL | Lateral strain in lower left leg |
| June 18, 2012 | Chris Getz | 15-Day DL | Lateral strain in lower left leg |
 Tampa Bay Rays |
|||
| Date | Player | Status | Injury |
| August 05, 2012 | Ben Zobrist | Day-to-Day | Left game - upper back spasms |
| July 21, 2012 | Luke Scott | 15-Day DL | Right oblique strain |
| July 21, 2012 | Luke Scott | 15-Day DL | Right oblique strain |
| July 21, 2012 | Alex Cobb | Day-to-Day | Left game - right knee contusion |
| July 02, 2012 | Hideki Matsui | Day-to-Day | Left game - left hamstring tightness |
| June 30, 2012 | Jeremy Hellickson | Day-to-Day | Left game - bruised right shin |
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) -- James Shields gave the Tampa Bay Rays another strong pitching performance as they make their push in the AL East.
Shields took a three-hitter into the eighth inning, leading Tampa Bay over the Kansas City Royals 5-3 Wednesday for the Rays' 16th win in 21 games.
The Rays moved three games back of the Yankees in the AL East after New York lost to the White Sox 2-1.
Shields (12-7) retired 12 in a row after Alcides Escobar 's two-out single in the third and allowed three runs and five hits in 7 2-3 innings. The right-hander struck out seven and walked one, improving to 4-0 with a 2.15 ERA in his last five starts.
"I'm mixing my pitches up pretty well," Shields said. "My delivery has been really, really well ever since the beginning of this month. My change up is back in action."
Escobar ended Shields' day with a two-out RBI triple in the eighth that pulled Kansas City to 4-2. Jake McGee allowed a run-scoring single to Alex Gordon , and Kyle Farnsworth retired Billy Butler on a grounder.
"Shields set the tone, again," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "Our starters normally do that. Great job on his part."
Jose Labaton homered off Aaron Crow leading off the bottom half, and Fernando Rodney pitched the ninth for his 39th save in 41 chances.
It was the first homer Crow allowed on the road since Boston's Carl Crawford went deep on Aug. 21 last year at Fenway Park.
Tampa Bay won two of three in the series, limiting the Royals to just five runs. Tampa Bay leads the AL with a 3.27 ERA.
Kansas City manager Ned Yost was ejected in the eighth by plate umpire Scott Barry for arguing after Eric Hosmer took a called third strike.
"These guys have tremendous starting pitching, tremendous bullpen," Yost said of the Rays. "It's a team you don't really want to come in and play because they're coached well, they're managed well, they play he game right and their pitching is just phenomenal. That being said, I thought we came in here and matched up pretty good in the three-game set."
Luis Mendoza (7-9) gave up two runs, five hits and four walks in 4 1-3 innings. He also hit a batter and balked.
"I struggled with my command," Mendoza said. "I tried to pitch careful today and I put runners on base and then they got a big hit. In baseball, the base on balls hurt you."
Jeff Francoeur 's RBI single put Kansas City ahead in the second, but the Rays took a 2-1 lead in the third on Ben Zobrist 's sacrifice fly and Jeff Keppinger 's RBI single. Ryan Roberts doubled in a run in the sixth, and the Rays made it 4-1 in the seventh on an error at second by Escobar, who couldn't handle Francoeur's throw from right on Zobrist's double.
"We kind of got some there late, but we just ran out of innings," Francoeur said. "Coming in I knew it was going to be tough series. We got one and we got close to getting one today."
NOTES: Yost's ejection was his third this season and 29th overall. ... Tampa Bay went 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position through the fifth and 1 for 13 overall. ... Mendoza threw 43 of 81 pitches for strikes. ... Tampa Bay begins a three-game home series Thursday night against Oakland that ends Saturday. The Rays don't play on Sunday due to Tropicana Field being used for next week's Republican National Convention. ... The Royals are off Thursday before a four-game series at Boston.
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Kansas City Royals