Watch Rays Blue Jays live streaming mlb 4/24 online radio commentary: Ben Zobrist and Johnny Damon led the Tampa Bay Rays to victory in the middle game of their series against the Toronto Blue Jays.
1:07 PM ET, April 24, 2011
Rogers Centre, Toronto, Ontario
The two could be poised for another big game in the finale.
Zobrist and Damon, who have regularly frustrated Blue Jays scheduled starter Ricky Romero, look to lead the Rays back to .500 with a 10th victory in 14 games Sunday at Rogers Centre.
Zobrist broke a 2-all tie with a three-run homer in the sixth inning for Tampa Bay (10-11) in Saturday's 6-4 win over Toronto (9-11). Damon drove in the other three runs and also homered for the Rays, who have won nine of 12.
While Damon is in the midst of an impressive surge, batting .351 with 15 RBIs in his last nine games, Zobrist has been struggling mightily. He entered Saturday's game hitting .183 with seven RBIs.
Facing Romero (1-2, 3.12 ERA) could help him get on track, as he's 6 for 12 with a pair of doubles lifetime against him.
Damon has also fared quite well versus Romero, going 4 for 7 (.571) with a homer, two doubles and six walks in his career.
Romero, who went 1-1 with a 5.89 ERA in three starts against the Rays last season, is hoping to put a disappointing outing behind him.
After posting a 1.66 ERA in his first three starts while walking just four over 21 2/3 innings, Romero allowed season highs of five runs, eight hits and five walks in a season-low 4 1/3 innings in Monday's 9-1 loss to Boston.
Tampa Bay counters with James Shields (1-1, 3.07), who tossed a four-hitter in Tuesday's 2-1 win over Chicago. The right-hander struck out a season-high nine and walked one in his first complete game since June 10, 2008, against the Los Angeles Angels.
"My delivery is really good right now," Shields told the Rays' official website. "I'm going to try to stay consistent. If I can stay consistent with my delivery and mechanics, there's less room for error."
Shields has yielded two or fewer runs in three of his four starts, with the only exception his lone outing away from Tropicana Field. He gave up five runs in six innings in Chicago on April 8, and has regularly struggled on the road.
Shields has a 5.04 career road ERA, compared to 3.53 in St. Petersburg.
It has been a similar story for Shields against the Blue Jays. The six-year veteran is 5-2 with a 3.38 ERA in nine career home starts against them but 1/3 with a 5.87 ERA in six games in Toronto. He had a 12.00 ERA in two outings at Rogers Centre last season.
Jose Bautista is batting .429 lifetime against Shields with two home runs in 14 at-bats, and had his first two-homer game of the season Saturday.
Bautista, who homered in Friday's 6-4, 11-inning series-opening win, also walked and singled Saturday, and has reached base in 10 consecutive plate appearances. He is batting .542 with six homers -- all solo shots -- with a double in seven home games this season.
"He's very reminiscent of Barry Bonds in 2002," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "He looks like that where every time he swings the bat, it looks like it's going to go over the wall. Just tremendous plate discipline, very aggressive swing. It's an understatement to say that he's locked in right now."
1:07 PM ET, April 24, 2011
Rogers Centre, Toronto, Ontario
The two could be poised for another big game in the finale.
Zobrist and Damon, who have regularly frustrated Blue Jays scheduled starter Ricky Romero, look to lead the Rays back to .500 with a 10th victory in 14 games Sunday at Rogers Centre.
Zobrist broke a 2-all tie with a three-run homer in the sixth inning for Tampa Bay (10-11) in Saturday's 6-4 win over Toronto (9-11). Damon drove in the other three runs and also homered for the Rays, who have won nine of 12.
While Damon is in the midst of an impressive surge, batting .351 with 15 RBIs in his last nine games, Zobrist has been struggling mightily. He entered Saturday's game hitting .183 with seven RBIs.
Damon has also fared quite well versus Romero, going 4 for 7 (.571) with a homer, two doubles and six walks in his career.
Romero, who went 1-1 with a 5.89 ERA in three starts against the Rays last season, is hoping to put a disappointing outing behind him.
After posting a 1.66 ERA in his first three starts while walking just four over 21 2/3 innings, Romero allowed season highs of five runs, eight hits and five walks in a season-low 4 1/3 innings in Monday's 9-1 loss to Boston.
Tampa Bay counters with James Shields (1-1, 3.07), who tossed a four-hitter in Tuesday's 2-1 win over Chicago. The right-hander struck out a season-high nine and walked one in his first complete game since June 10, 2008, against the Los Angeles Angels.
"My delivery is really good right now," Shields told the Rays' official website. "I'm going to try to stay consistent. If I can stay consistent with my delivery and mechanics, there's less room for error."
Shields has yielded two or fewer runs in three of his four starts, with the only exception his lone outing away from Tropicana Field. He gave up five runs in six innings in Chicago on April 8, and has regularly struggled on the road.
Shields has a 5.04 career road ERA, compared to 3.53 in St. Petersburg.
It has been a similar story for Shields against the Blue Jays. The six-year veteran is 5-2 with a 3.38 ERA in nine career home starts against them but 1/3 with a 5.87 ERA in six games in Toronto. He had a 12.00 ERA in two outings at Rogers Centre last season.
Jose Bautista is batting .429 lifetime against Shields with two home runs in 14 at-bats, and had his first two-homer game of the season Saturday.
Bautista, who homered in Friday's 6-4, 11-inning series-opening win, also walked and singled Saturday, and has reached base in 10 consecutive plate appearances. He is batting .542 with six homers -- all solo shots -- with a double in seven home games this season.
"He's very reminiscent of Barry Bonds in 2002," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "He looks like that where every time he swings the bat, it looks like it's going to go over the wall. Just tremendous plate discipline, very aggressive swing. It's an understatement to say that he's locked in right now."
