Shields, Gomes, Zobrist power Rays

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) -- James Shields allowed three runs pitching into the ninth inning, and Jonny Gomes and Ben Zobrist hit back-to-back homers to lead the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays past the Oakland Athletics, 4-3 on Wednesday.

Shields (9-6) gave up six hits and struck out seven in improving to 5-1 in his last six starts. Shields' bid for his fourth complete game of the season ended when Jack Cust doubled with one out in the ninth.

Troy Percival replaced Shields and got the final two outs for his 20th save in 22 chances. It's the 10th time in his career the right-hander has recorded at least 20 saves.

(Pictured: James Shields. Times photo -- James Borchuck. Click to enlarge.)

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Comments

[Tone]

Blake would be perfect, and CC is better for the team than Holliday(his knees will blow in trop). Troy is my nightmare-his buddy is hooking him up with easy saves(padding his record before real retirement)which he almost blows every time. All we need is 1 solid bullpen addition and a solid outfield righty bat to make us complete. J.P. and Grant rule the pen!

[Rick K]

It might be the case that the smartest move is to continue to coach up the players we have now, with an eye on future seasons, while doing the best these guys can this year. Most teams knock on the door before getting a ticket to October baseball. History really isn't filled with stories of teams who went from worst to first, acquired a player in a trade right before the deadline, and ended up with playoff victory.

I say coach up the kids we got. Hope the older guys can shave a little bit off the "disadvantages" side of the ledger and see what happens.

[harold]

i agree with Dick. I think the bats can come around but we need an everyday rf. And a Starting pitcher. package Glover Jackson and Reyes and a a minor pitcher. i would never Miss them for one

[Jim's Wake Up Call]

jeez, talk about uneducated fans that shouldn't be allowed to comment!

we don't need no stinkin' rental players ... certainly better not give up prospects for one

and you're NUTS if you think that we'd be a team to get into a bidding war for his services ... he aint gonna be cheap!

[Jim]

Fellow Rays Fans, Matt Holliday is better than Carl Crawford, especially for our team which needs a power bat over speed b/c we already have BJ & Bartlett who can swipe bags. Crawford is a star, but Holliday is a superstar (he is also a .300 hitter with a .400 obp away from Coors & he has 13 steals this year). The only issue with Holliday is if the Rays would be able to sign him when he becomes a free agent.

[dick]

We all seem to be identifying one glaring deficiency when in fact, we have several. RF, conistent right handed hitter with decent power----LHP in the bullpen to help JP and please, don't anyone try and tell me Miller is sufficient,the only purpose Hammel has is if we are getting killed in early innings and he takes one for the team, nothing else, take a look at Glover and his ERA and if you have seen him enough, you know he isn't much help, Howell, Balfour, Wheeler, Percy and a lefty to add would be good----we need one or two established quality starting pitchers to go with Kaz, Shields, Garza; Jackson is SO inconsistant and Andy is so consistantly hittable that we normally need at least 4 runs when he pitches BUT he is steady steady and gives his all. What is bothersome is Shields ERA on the road (over 6) and his W-L record reflects it. Should be interesting trading period but I feel the bosses realize what we do and they need to do something constructive now.

[Ray F]

In a very sick way, I agree with Doogie to an extent.

I think CC should sit out against the Royals to rest his legs a little more so he will be fresh for a run at the playoffs. Maybe even against the Indians in 2 weeks too.

I think he is hurt and if I were Joe Maddon, I would sit him down and let him know he's our guy and that this is for the best. Just like he did with Percy VS the Sux. It'll hurt, but I think it has to be done.

[Doogie Howser, MD]

I believe CC is hurt and playing through it. I would like to see him on the DL now so maybe he will be healthy come September.

[RaysFan81]

People like Jim are an example of a problem with our fan base. Overall we don't know enough about baseball to make comments in a public forum. It's the same reason why people at the Trop start the wave while our team is batting. You don't see that in St. Louis, Chicago, New York or Boston. Real fans of baseball know better. Trade for Casey Blake to platoon with CC? Casey Blake is a scrub. CC is arguably the best everyday player on our team. Casey Blake is a career .265 hitter. Let's get real like Ray F said.

[Ray F]

Jim,

That has got to be the most rediculous trade proposed by a fan in the history of the Rays.

I know you're a fan, but get real.

[Jim]

I will currently take Gomes in the outfield over Crawford. In addition to Crawford not trying to catch the "double" in the ninth inning yesterday, Gomes has been one of our best hitters since the All-Star break. He is taking pitches off the plate and really making the pitcher work while he waits for his pitch. 3-8 with and homerun and 2 walks in the A's series sounds good to me. The Rays should either trade for Casey Blake to platoon in left with Crawford or include Crawford in a trade deal to the Rocks for Matt Holliday, if possible.

[Football is boring]

Hey, I went to and enjoyed the game today. Now that Gomes has hit a home run, let's not play him for 10 days straight -- since he got his hit for two weeks.

[dick]

Happy to see Shields get another W !! To think we get our run production from the likes of Gomes and Zobrist shows how terrible this offense is and needs immediate repair before the trade deadline. Zobrist has shown he can handle himself at the major league level, is versatile offensively and defensively. Sure he makes a few errors but so does Bartlett. It may not show that Gomes makes errors but we all are well aware of the undocumented errors he has made in RF. I'm glad he managed to make contact and essentially win this game but we cannot continue to win with him.