James Shields

Carl Pavano make one key mistake, and that was all James Shields needed. Shields carried a three-hitter into the ninth inning, B.J. Upton had a key two-run single and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Minnesota Twins 4-1 on Saturday night. "A tough night at the plate, but guys like that do that to you," Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire said. "We were facing a very, very good pitcher out there, Mr Shields. He was really, really good. He's a gamer. He dominated us. " Shields (3-0)

James Shields blamed himself for Tampa Bay's loss to the Atlanta Braves. Tommy Hanson pitched seven effective innings, Freddie Freeman drove in two runs and Atlanta beat Shields and the Rays 5-3 on Friday night. "I've got to do a better job," Shields said. "I definitely put that loss on me. " Shields (6-2) gave up four runs and seven hits over six innings. Luke Scott had two RBIs for Tampa Bay. "I felt like I was making good pitches up to the fifth inning," Shields said.

The Red Sox were shut down by James Shields and the Rays last night, snapping their nine-game win streak. Nick Cafardo writes that the Rays are overachieving and staying in contention. The notebook has Andrew Miller and the Red Sox facing a decision and Carl Crawford returning to Tampa Bay. Terry Francona reached out to Bruins coach Claude Julien and wished him well.

Elliot Johnson and Ben Zobrist homered, Carlos Pena ended an extended slump with two doubles and two RBIs, and the Tampa Bay Rays held on to beat the Baltimore Orioles 9-8 Sunday and avert a three-game sweep. James Shields earned his sixth win for the Rays, who snapped a three-game skid and won for only the second time in eight games. Tampa Bay entered the series tied atop the AL East with Baltimore. This victory was anything but easy. The Rays led 7-1 in the fourth inning and 9-6 in the eighth, but it was 9-8 when Fernando Rodney got Matt Wieters to ground out in the ninth with...

By Peter Abraham, Globe Staff The Rays-Yankees game was rained out today. Here's how the Rays will line up their pitching for the series at Fenway that starts Tuesday: Tuesday Game 1: James Shields vs. Jon Lester, 1:05 p.m. Game 2: Jeff Niemann vs. Erik Bedard, 7:10 p.m. Wednesday David Price vs. John Lackey, 1:35 p.m.

Astros catcher J.R. Towles received 11 stitches to close a cut after a pitch bounced off the dirt and hit him under the chin. The Astros said he did not have a concussion. Blood began dripping from his jaw immediately after he was hit by the ball with Tampa Bay pitcher James Shields batting in the third inning. Trainers came onto the field and held towels to the cut for a couple of minutes before helping him off the field Friday night. He was replaced by Carlos Corporan.

Another injury to an All-Star infielder left Phillies manager Charlie Manuel feeling a bit edgy. Hector Luna's RBI single in the 10th inning lifted the Phillies over a Blue Jays split squad, 4-3, in Clearwater, Fla., Saturday. The game was irrelevant, though. The concern for Manuel was third baseman Placido Polanco, who left the game after injuring his left ring finger diving back into first base on a pickoff attempt. There was no immediate word on the results of Polanco's X-ray.

■ CC Sabathia is the first Yankees pitcher with 19 wins in three straight years since Vic Raschi did it four times from 1948-51. ■ James Shields of the Rays became the first AL pitcher since Randy Johnson in 1993 to have at least 200 strikeouts and 10 complete games in the same season. The only other 200-strikeout, 10-complete game pitcher since 2000 was Sabathia, who accomplished the feat when he pitched for the Indians and the Brewers during the 2008 season. ■The Rockies' Troy Tulowitzki eclipsed the 100-RBI mark for the first time.

James Shields carried a three-hitter into the ninth inning, B.J. Upton had a key two-run single and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Minnesota Twins 4-1 on Saturday night. Shields (3-0) allowed one run and five hits over eight-plus innings while winning his third consecutive start after getting a no-decision on opening day against the New York Yankees. Upton's two-out hit off Carl Pavano (1-2) gave the Rays a 3-0 lead in the sixth. Another run scored on the play when center fielder Denard Span was charged with a throwing error attempting to cut down Matt Joyce at third.

James Shields blamed himself for Tampa Bay's loss to the Atlanta Braves. Tommy Hanson pitched seven effective innings, Freddie Freeman drove in two runs and Atlanta beat Shields and the Rays 5-3 on Friday night. "I've got to do a better job," Shields said. "I definitely put that loss on me. " Shields (6-2) gave up four runs and seven hits over six innings. Luke Scott had two RBIs for Tampa Bay. "I felt like I was making good pitches up to the fifth inning," Shields said.

The Baltimore Orioles were already assured a series victory and sole possession of first place, so no one would have blamed them if they coasted to the finish after falling behind Tampa Bay by six runs. Instead, Baltimore mounted a comeback bid that finally ended with the winning run at second base in the ninth inning. Although the Orioles dropped a 9-8 decision Sunday, they made a significant statement in defeat. "This team never gives up," catcher Matt Wieters said.

David Price struck out 12 over eight strong innings and Jose Molina hit his first homer of the season to lead the Tampa Bay Rays to their sixth straight win, 7-2 over the Oakland Athletics on Friday night. The Rays, who are a major league-best 19-8, improved to 13-1 at home and won for the 12th time in 13 games overall. Price (5-1) threw just 106 pitches while allowing an earned run, three hits and a walk. He is the second AL pitcher to win five games this season, joining teammate James Shields, who got his fifth victory Wednesday.

Sean Rodriguez and Luke Scott homered for Tampa Bay, helping Rays right-hander James Shields become the AL's first five-game winner with a 5-4 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday night. Shields (5-0) allowed four runs and five hits over six innings, walked four and struck out 11 to win his sixth straight decision over two seasons, matching the longest winning streak of his career. Kyle Seager homered twice off the 2011 All-Star, driving in all of Seattle's runs. Rodriguez hit a two-run homer off Blake Beavan (1-4)

Once again, the young Seattle Mariners were left to lament wasted opportunities in a close game. Kyle Seager's three-run, first-inning homer stopped an 0-for-30 drought with runners in scoring position, but didn't end his team's hitting woes in key situations on Wednesday night. After stranding the potential tying run at third base in the eighth inning of a 5-4 loss to Tampa Bay, manager Eric Wedge said youth is not an excuse for inconsistency. "Obviously we've been very streaky as a club.

James Shields carried a three-hitter into the ninth inning, B.J. Upton had a key two-run single and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Minnesota Twins 4-1 on Saturday night. Shields (3-0) allowed one run and five hits over eight-plus innings while winning his third consecutive start after getting a no-decision on opening day against the New York Yankees. Upton's two-out hit off Carl Pavano (1-2) gave the Rays a 3-0 lead in the sixth. Another run scored on the play when center fielder Denard Span was charged with a throwing error attempting to cut down Matt...

Carl Pavano make one key mistake, and that was all James Shields needed. Shields carried a three-hitter into the ninth inning, B.J. Upton had a key two-run single and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Minnesota Twins 4-1 on Saturday night. "A tough night at the plate, but guys like that do that to you," Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire said. "We were facing a very, very good pitcher out there, Mr Shields. He was really, really good. He's a gamer. He dominated us. " Shields (3-0)

By Peter Abraham, Globe Staff ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Betting on baseball is a foolish proposition. Having spent a few summer weekends in Vegas and returned with just enough money to pay for a cab, I can attest to this fact. But tonight had all the signs of trouble. The red-hot Red Sox had cooled their jets with a day off. The Rays had the surprisingly good James Shields on the mound, a guy who has been lights out at home. By now you've heard what happened. Shields went the distance in a 4-0 victory.

SEATTLE - Carlos Pena hit his 21st home run and drove in another run and the Tampa Bay Rays increased their lead in the AL East to 3 1/2 games with a 5-3 victory over the Seattle Mariners last night. Tampa Bay's lead over the second-place Red Sox is its largest since July 7. Two days after his dramatic, game-ending home run capped a six-run ninth inning for the Rays, Pena made up for the absence of Evan Longoria, the team's leader in home runs and RBIs. Longoria is missing at least one day of his team's season-long, 10-game road trip because of a bruised hand.

BOSTON (AP) — The Tampa Bay Rays needed a strong pitching performance to avoid a four-game sweep by the hot-hitting Boston Red Sox. They got it from James Shields. Shields allowed four hits — all singles — in 8 1-3 innings, and the Rays beat Boston 1-0 Monday after being outscored 31-11 by the Red Sox in the previous three games. ‘‘It was my job to stop the bleeding," Shields said. ‘‘We had a rough three games and they were hot. They were swinging the bats pretty well.