Shields shuts down Tigers as Royals reclaim sole possession of first place
He was brought here for nights like this, for games in the wind and the rain in enemy territory, for moments when the Royals season appears imperiled. James Shields revived his club and returned them to sole possession of first place in the American League Central — and all it took was seven spotless innings in a 3-0 victory over the Tigers at Comerica Park.
Shields likes to say that September baseball may as well be playoff baseball. The stakes are the same. To lose is to shuttle your season one day closer to the end. The Royals acquired Shields so he could lead them into October. On Wednesday night, to bookend a 3-3 road trip, he demonstrated why this club requires his presence. He followed up 8 1/3 scoreless innings against the Yankees on Friday with another stalwart effort.
Shields (14-7, 3.13 ERA) muffled the Tigers. He withstood the elements. In the seventh inning, the only frame that gave him trouble, he overcame troublesome mound to navigate through the heart of Detroit’s order. He finished with eight strikeouts, fanning J.D. Martinez with his trademark change-up to end the seventh. Detroit could only manage two hits and a walk against him.
The offense delivered their typical safety net, a two-run rally in the fourth inning and a sacrifice fly in the ninth. It was up to Shields to maintain the lead and avoid a sweep. The final two innings belonged to Kelvin Herrera and Wade Davis. Greg Holland was unable to pitch for the sixth consecutive game due to tightness in his right triceps.
The Tigers tamed the Royals (80-65) on the first two nights here. They thumped Jeremy Guthrie on Monday and benefited from Jarrod Dyson’s base-running blunder on Tuesday. Kansas City saw their lead shrink from two games to none.
There was no way for manager Ned Yost to spin this as a positive. But he simplified the situation. To illustrate the message, Yost told reporters a small parable. Two hikers are climbing a mountain when they come across a bear. One hiker bends to tie his shoes. The other looks perplexed.
“What are you doing?” the second hiker says. “You’re not going to out-run that bear.”
“I don’t have to out-run the bear,” the first hiker says. “I just have to out-run you.”
Inside his office, Yost laughed as he made his point.
“It’s a 19-game season,” he said. “We’re tied going into a 19-game season. We don’t have to beat them by five steps. We just have to beat them by one step.”
The first day of the truncated season almost never got started. A series of storms rocked the city on Wednesday. The downpour soaked the diamond throughout the day. The clouds never parted, but the rain abated in the evening. The game was only delayed 42 minutes.
The matchup pitted Shields with Rick Porcello, a talented, enigmatic 25-year-old in the midst of his finest season since he debuted in 2009. He flooded the zone with strikes at the start, with 22 strikes in 27 pitches in the first two innings.
In the third, Alcides Escobar utilized his legs to pressure Porcello. He cracked a grounder to the left side of the infield and beat a throw by Tigers shortstop Andrew Romine. Next Escobar stole second, his 29th swipe of the season, and trotted to third when Alex Avila’s throw skidded into the outfield.
Detroit manager Brad Ausmus instructed his infielders to creep forward. Porcello gave Nori Aoki a fastball down the middle. Aoki chopped it to second baseman Ian Kinsler, who threw home. The umpire ruled Avila tagged out Escobar. Yost opted not to challenge the close play.
The Royals left little up to interpretation in the fourth. Josh Willingham sparked the rally with an 11-pitch at-bat. At last he rolled a single up the middle. Eric Hosmer tapped a grounder toward third base and dove into first to beat the throw. Free-swinging as always, Salvador Perez smacked the first pitch of his at-bat into left field to score Willingham.
As Porcello stumbled, the skies reopened. The rain was pouring when Lorenzo Cain smacked an RBI single up the middle. Shields now possessed a two-run lead — larger than any advantage he held on Friday in The Bronx.
Shields had not started in exceptional fashion. The first batter he faced was Ian Kinsler. Kinsler punched a 2-2 cutter into right for a leadoff single. He would be the only Tiger to reach base during the first six innings.
And he wasn’t even there for long. Shields threw to first to bring Kinsler back to the bag. Kinsler neglected to slide. Hosmer tapped him with a tag in the groin — to add injury to the insult. Yost succeeded on a challenge to overturn the initial safe call by first-base umpire John Tumpane.
The defenders behind him were also on alert. In the fourth inning, Torii Hunter hit a one-hopper that took a high bounce. Playing on the grass at third, Mike Moustakas leapt and snagged the ball. As he tumbled out of play, he flung the ball across his body. Hosmer caught it a few feet away from first, darted to his right and slapped a tag on Hunter.
It was Hunter who vexed Shields in the seventh. He hit a single to give Detroit their first base runner since the inaugural inning. At this point, with Miguel Cabrera at the plate, Shields waged a battle with the mound.
First he lost his footing and flung a fastball well over Perez’s head. Hunter took second. Two pitches later, Shields slipped again. He stared at his landing spot and shook his head. “Wow,” he said.
Cabrera ended up walking. Victor Martinez flied out on the first pitch. With runners at the corners and two out, Shields squared off with J.D. Martinez, the Astros castoff who has tormented Kansas City all season. Shields declined to throw him a fastball. He floated curveballs and changeups until Martinez struck out.
This story was originally published September 10, 2014 at 10:21 PM with the headline "Shields shuts down Tigers as Royals reclaim sole possession of first place."