Rays Vs. Angels: Shields, Weaver Duel; Tampa Bay Prevails In Extras

It was a match of pitching titans, each with similar statistical profiles. James Shields and Jered Weaver are both control mavens, and they can both strike hitters out. The two pitchers entered the game in the top-ten in the AL in ERA.

So of course Juan Cruz and Fernando Rodney got the decisions. That's usually how the great pitching match-ups work. The Tampa Bay Rays completed a three-game sweep against the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday night, winning 4-3 in 10 innings in Los Angeles of Anaheim

The Rays built a 3-0 lead, scoring single runs in the third, seventh, and eighth innings. In the third inning, Reid Brignac homered on a towering, looping fly ball that just got over the 330 sign in right field. Brignac was at -1 home runs, so the homer brought him up to 0 for the year. In the seventh, Justin Ruggiano doubled home Matt Joyce with two outs, and in the eighth, Ben Zobrist tripled home Johnny Damon with two down.

Shields befuddled the Angels through seven innings, but he couldn't get an out in the eighth. Maicer Izturis was hit by a pitch, Torii Hunter singled, and Alberto Callaspo walked on an extremely close 3-2 pitch to load the bases.

Shields gave way to Cesar Ramos, who came in to face Bobby Abreu. Ramos tried the art of the sneak attack, throwing a fastball right down the middle, where Abreu was certainly not expecting it. It was just crazy enough to work! Except it didn't. Abreu cleared the bases to tie the game at 3-3.

The Angels also had a chance to go ahead in the inning. Abreu moved to third with one out on a Howie Kendrick grounder, but Mark Trumbo hit an infield pop-up, and Vernon Wells struck out swinging to end the threat. At this point, it's not even worth poking fun at Wells and his contract -- it's just sad at this point.

In the tenth inning, the Rays played small ball, with John Jaso taking a walk as a pinch-hitter and Evan Longoria dribbling a ball just past the pitcher's mound to put runners on first and second with no outs. Jaso then stole third for his first stolen base since August 19th of last year. Brignac then safety-squeezed him home to put the Rays up 4-3, which was how the game ended. Kyle Farnsworth allowed a base runner in the 10th, but locked down his 13th save of the season.