Royals 8, Rays 2
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- James Shields beat his former team after a shaky start and Mike Moustakas hit a two-run homer as the Kansas City Royals rallied for an 8-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday night.
Shields, who compiled an 85-73 record in seven seasons with the Rays before being traded in December to the Royals in a seven-player blockbuster, gave up two runs before retiring a batter but nothing after that.
After allowing two runs and three hits and a walk in the first, Shields yielded just two singles and walked none in the next six innings to pick up the victory.
Rays right-hander Alex Cobb allowed four singles in the first five innings and retired the first two batters in the sixth on ground balls.
The Royals, however, erupted for six consecutive hits and scored four runs to chase Cobb before the inning ended.
Eric Hosmer started it with a double off the left-field wall and scored on Lorenzo Cain's single to left. Moustakas homered into the Rays' right-field bullpen to put the Royals up 3-2. It was Moustakas' first homer since Sept. 14, a span of 129 at-bats without going deep.
The Royals were not through scoring. Jeff Francoeur doubled and scored on Salvador Perez's single. Elliot Johnson's single finished Cobb's night. He gave up four runs and 10 hits while striking out five and walking none.
The Royals tacked on three runs in the seventh off Brandon Gomes. Moustakas contributed a sacrifice fly and Francoeur drove in another run with a triple. A Jose Molina throwing error allowed Hosmer to score the other run.
Butler's sacrifice fly in the eighth scored Johnson with the final run.
While every Royal had a hit, the bottom five -- Cain, Moustakas, Francoeur, Perez and Johnson -- went a combined 10 for 18 with five runs and six RBIs.
Desmond Jennings led off the game with a first-pitch single, a ground ball just beyond the reach of shortstop Alcides Escobar. Matt Joyce, the next batter, hit a 3-1 pitch over the right-center fence for his fifth home run. The Rays have homered in 15 consecutive games, which ties the club record and is the longest streak in the majors this season. The Rays also homered in 15 straight games in 2009.
After one out, Shields ran into more difficulty, walking Evan Longoria and giving up a double to James Loney. Shields prevented more damage by striking out Yunel Escobar and Luke Scott, stranding the runners.
NOTES: Rays left-hander David Price said Tuesday that he has not heard from Major League Baseball officials concerning the incident with plate umpire Tom Hallion on Sunday. Price accused Hallion of screaming at him "to throw the ball over the (bleeping) plate" as he walked off the field in the seventh inning. "You can't talk to people that way, period," Price said. "That was my whole thing. It had nothing to do with the calls that he made. Whether they discipline him or not, that's just not the way to talk to people. It's not." Hallion responded by calling Price a "liar." ... Rays manager Joe Maddon said of the Price-Hallion affair: "I take a lot of responsibility in that moment by not being more proactive and getting out there sooner. I didn't read it right, and I should have read it better. I really believe that, and I was upset with myself." ...Former Ray Elliot Johnson made his fifth start at second base for the Royals.
