ST. PETERSBURG (AP) -
James
Shields took a three-hitter into the eighth inning, leading Tampa Bay
over the Kansas City Royals 5-3 Wednesday for the Rays' 16th win in 21 games.
Shields
(12-7) retired 12 in a row after Alcides Escobar's two-out single in the third
and allowed three runs and five hits in 7 2-3 innings. The right-hander struck
out seven and walked one, improving to 4-0 with a 2.15 ERA in his last five
starts.
Escobar
ended Shields' day with a two-out RBI triple in the eighth that pulled Kansas City to 4-2. Jake
McGee allowed a run-scoring single to Alex Gordon, and Kyle Farnsworth retired
Billy Butler on a grounder.
