James Shields struck out 10 batters in eight-plus innings and the Tampa Bay Rays handed the Seattle Mariners their fourth consecutive defeat with a 5-2 victory Tuesday in the opener of a three-game series.
Shields appeared headed for a complete game before Franklin Gutierrez and Ryan Langerhans opened the ninth with back-to-back singles and Ken Griffey Jr. followed with an RBI single.
Shields (4-0) allowed eight hits and issued no walks. He also got the benefit of four Seattle errors, three by Jack Wilson, as Tampa Bay improved to 10-1 on the road.
Rafael Soriano recorded the final three outs for his seventh save.
Evan Longoria hit his seventh homer in the fifth inning off Jason Vargas (2-2). The knock extended his hitting streak to 10 games
Ben Zobrist, Sean Rodriguez, Reid Brignac and Willy Aybar all drove in runs for Tampa Bay.
Tampa Bay | Seattle | |
James Shields | Player | Jason Vargas |
Win | W/L | Loss |
8.0 | IP | 6.2 |
10 | Strikeouts | 8 |
8 | Hits | 4 |
2.25 | ERA | 4.05 |
Tampa Bay | Seattle | |
Evan Longoria | Player | Franklin Gutierrez |
3 | Hits | 3 |
1 | RBI | 0 |
1 | HR | 0 |
6 | TB | 3 |
.750 | Avg | .750 |