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 ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) - No one in Tampa Bay's clubhouse is ready to declare James Shields the ace of the Devil Rays' young pitching staff. But he just might be the most consistent starter. Shields took a two-hitter into the eighth inning and Carlos Pena homered for the second straight day Monday to lead the Devil Rays to a 4-2 victory over Kansas City and a split of a four-game series between last-place teams.
"He's pitched so well," Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said after Shields (5-0) had his ninth consecutive outing of at least seven innings. "The team goes out there with a different mental edge about it."
With All-Star Scott Kazmir struggling to win, in part because of high pitch counts, Shields has been Tampa Bay's best starting pitcher. He has one complete game and exited each of his other 11 starts with the lead or the score tied.
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