Royals’ comeback gives James Shields a no-decision and another postseason start
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Royals pitcher James Shields had his goggles perched above his head taking questions away from the fray of the celebration in the clubhouse. He was already drenched, but it was a smart move to escape the mess for a minute.
It’s an oversimplification to say the Kansas City Royals’ trade for Shields before the 2013 season was for games like Tuesday night’s wild-card eliminator between the Oakland A’s and Royals. But the Royals knew what Shields’ role would be after he logged seven straight 200-plus-innings seasons and six postseason starts with the Rays.
Earlier in September, the Royals shuffled the pitching rotation to ensure the man with the “Big Game James” nickname would be lined up to pitch the franchise’s first postseason game in 29 years.
That he did. And while Shields left the game with the lead in the sixth inning, he ended up with a no-decision as the Royals came back three times to win 9-8 in 12 innings.
“I felt I pitched my butt off tonight, did everything I could,” Shields said. “[Oakland] gave me a tough time early, saw a lot of pitches early, got me deep in counts. That’s what that team does over there. To be able to come back like that, awesome.”
Shields’ nemesis turned out to be Brandon Moss. The Oakland designated hitter who is battling a hip injury hit a home run off a low fastball from Shields in the first inning to put the A’s up 2-0.
From that point, Shields pitched better, logging six strikeouts and getting a little help from poor baserunning. With two men on in the third inning, Moss hit a soft liner to Eric Hosmer that turned into a double play after Sam Fuld had wandered off second base.
But as Shields piled up pitches in the early innings, the Royals’ bullpen, perhaps the best in baseball, was waiting after he allowed the first two batters he faced in the sixth to get on base.
Yes, it could have been Shields’ final start in a Kansas City uniform. When the Royals traded outfielder Wil Myers, pitcher Jake Odorizzi and others to Tampa Bay for Shields and pitcher Wade Davis, the club knew it was likely only getting two years of Shields’ services before he departed as a free agent.
And, yes, Shields is the undisputed leader of the pitching staff. But with the Royals’ bullpen fresh from a day off, Ned Yost went to it after Shields had thrown 88 pitches, the fewest he had all season.
However, instead of using one of his great relievers, Yost used a starter in Yordano Ventura, a 23-year-old who had pitched just once in relief all season. Ventura’s first hitter? Moss. On a 2-0 count, Moss sent a 98-mph fastball howling over the centerfield fence. Suddenly the lead Shields had three pitches earlier was gone and he was on the hook for the loss.
“That guy’s a good hitter, man. You throw it in his bat zone and he’s going to hit it. He’s going to hit it out. He had a phenomenal game today,” Shields said.
As Shields watched from the dugout, the Royals went down 7-3. After three runs in the eighth, the team was down one. A run in the ninth sent it to extra innings. With Davis, Kelvin Herrera and Greg Holland all used up, the team turned to a man who could be Shields’ eventual replacement as the Royals’ No. 1 starter in Brandon Finnegan.
Finnegan, Kansas City’s first-round pick in the 2014 draft and a 21-year-old less than four months removed from pitching at TCU, threw 2 1/3 innings, his longest relief outing in the majors this season. While Finnegan was charged with the run that gave Oakland a brief 8-7 lead in the 12th, he only allowed a hit and a walk and struck out three, including a key strikeout of Moss to end the 11th.
“I’m going to tell you right now, Finnegan, that guy was something special tonight,” Shields said. “He had ice in his veins, he really stepped up for us there late in the game.”
Overall, Shields’ line Tuesday night wasn’t special with five hits, two walks and four runs in five innings. And he hasn’t been special in the postseason throughout his career, giving up 45 hits and 23 earned runs throughout 39 1/3 innings.
But he’ll get another chance to buck that trend Sunday, when Kansas City hosts the Los Angeles Angels for Game 3 of the American League Division Series. While the Big Game James nickname is derived because of his first name and not necessarily his postseason prowess, there’s no question who the Royals want on the mound in crucial games this postseason. Even if it’s only for one more start in a K.C. uniform.
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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
