James Shields shuts Down Padres

Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Kansas City ace James Shields shut out the Padres over 7 innings, allowing the Royals to cruise to an 8-0 victory over the Padres in San Diego on Wednesday.

Though Shields claimed to not have his best stuff, he still held San Diego to 7 hits and 2 walks, while striking out 4. Meanwhile, the Royals offense handed him a 3-0 lead before Shields took the mound in the bottom of the first, scoring two unearned runs on two infield errors by the Padres.

On the day, Royals hitters accumulated 14 hits, drew 5 walks, and managed to plate 8 runs even though their only extra-base hits were 2 doubles.

The Kansas City Royals are now 16-17, and remain 6 games behind Detroit in the Central.

On the Mound

James Shields controlled the Padres from the beginning. Though he worked into many deep counts and allowed 9 runners to reach base, he remained in charge throughout the game. The Royals defense aided him with 2 double plays and a number of nice catches in the field. Shields is now 4-3, with a 2.70 ERA.

Aaron Crow relieved Shields in the 8th and did not give up an earned run for the 13th straight inning. He has yet to give up an earned run this season, though he has allowed 5 of 7 inherited runners to score.

Louis Coleman finished off the Padres in the 9th, finally escaping an inning without damage. Hopefully, a solid outing will help get him on track this season, or he will end up becoming the staff “garbage man”.

At the Plate

The only starting Royals position player that did not get a hit was Mike Moustakas, who did manage to get an RBI on a sacrifice fly. Pitcher James Shields also did not get a hit.

Norichika Aoki, Eric Hosmer, and Danny Valencia (who started at 2nd in place of Omar Infante) stroked 3 hits, while Salvador Perez had 2.

Hosmer had the biggest day, going 3-4 with 3 singles, a walk, and 4 RBI’s. Hosmer inflated his BA to a team-leading .306 with his second 3-hit game in the series.

It was good to not only see the Royals score some runs, but also demonstrate patience at the plate. They need more performances like today if they expect to be in contention late in the season with their lack of power.

This and That

A T-Rex dinosaur, from a local stage show, threw out the game’s ceremonial first pitch. You can see the video here, it was really quite a sight.

The Royals had a big day on defense. Not only did they get two double plays started by Alcides Escobar, Jarrod Dyson make a diving catch in center. Eric Hosmer fielded a hot smash down the 1st base line with two runners on and caught Cameron Maybin off second because he thought the ball would go into the outfield.

Wednesday win was a big victory to prevent the Royals from falling back into a funk after breaking their 5 game losing streak the night before. The last thing the team needs is another horrible month of May that put them in a hole last season.

KC Kingdom Player of the Game

Though Hosmer had another terrific game, I am going with James Shields as my player of the game. Shields threw 118 pitches and worked through a number of jams to hold the Padres scoreless. The Royals needed a game like this to keep the pressure off their offense.

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• Billy Butler — 2
• Wade Davis
• Norichika Aoki
• Salvador Perez – 2
• Jeremy Guthrie
• Jason Vargas – 4
• Alex Gordon – 3
• Bruce Chen
• James Shields – 4
• Yordano Ventura – 3
• Mike Moustakas
• Danny Duffy
• Omar Infante –
• Mike Moustakas – 2
• Alcides Escobar –3
• Eric Hosmer –4
• Michael Mariot

The Padres

The dinosaur had a better day on the mound than the Padres pitching staff. Starter Andrew Cashner gave up 4 runs in 4 innings. Everyone knew he was not destined long for the game after throwing 43 pitches in the 1st inning.

Each of the four pitchers the Padres used gave up at least one run—though 4 of the 8 scored by the Royals were unearned.

It was a bad day in all phases of the game for San Diego—the pitchers gave up 14 hits and 5 walks, the defense made three errors, and the hitters failed to score.

Up Next

The Royals continue their west coast swing with a 3-game set against the Mariners in Seattle. Danny Duffy (1-2, 2.19 ERA) will start the opener in place of injured Bruce Chen, while the Mariners will send Hishashi Iwakuma (1-0, 5.40 ERA) to the mound. Gametime is 9:10 CST at Safeco Field.

Box

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 5/8/2014.

2B: A Gordon (13, off A Cashner); D Valencia (1, off A Torres).
SF: M Moustakas (2, off A Cashner).
TB: D Valencia 4; E Hosmer 3; N Aoki 3; A Gordon 2; S Perez 2; J Dyson; A Escobar.
GIDP: M Moustakas (2); D Valencia (1).
RBI: E Hosmer 4 (17); M Moustakas (14); D Valencia (3).
2-out RBI: E Hosmer 2.
Team LOB: 11.
With RISP: 4 for 12.
Fielding
DP: 2. A Escobar-E Hosmer 2.
Baserunning
SB: A Escobar (10, 2nd base off A Cashner/R Rivera); N Aoki (4, 3rd base off A Cashner/R Rivera).

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 5/8/2014.

HBP: W Venable (1, by J Shields).
TB: R Rivera 2; C Maybin 2; A Amarista 2; S Smith; K Blanks.
GIDP: Y Grandal (3); Y Alonso (4).
Team LOB: 8.
With RISP: 1 for 6.
Fielding
DP: 2. J Gyorko-E Cabrera-K Blanks; D Roach-E Cabrera-K Blanks.
PB: R Rivera (3).
E: R Rivera (2); E Cabrera 2 (6).
Outfield Assists: S Smith (E Hosmer at 3rd base).

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 5/8/2014.

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 5/8/2014.

Balks: None.

WP: A Torres (3).

BP: J Shields (5; W Venable).

IBB: None.

Pickoffs: None.

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