Shields throws five shutout innings

James Shields pitched five shutout innings Tuesday in Fort Myers as the Tampa Bay Rays snapped their two-game losing streak with a 7-1 victory against the Minnesota Twins.
It was the longest outing of the spring for Shields, who allowed four hits, walked and struck out one. He lowered his ERA to 2.70 in 10 innings this soring.

Long ball
Evan Longoria hit a pinch-hit home run for the Rays. Elliot Johnson and Dioner Navarro also homered for Tampa Bay, which have 10 home runs. All but nine have been hit on the road. Jonny Gomes leads the team with two.

Hot bats
Johnson as 3-for-5 against the Twins and raised his average to .500. Willy Aybar was 2-for-2 with a pair of RBIs. He’s batting .316.
Eric Hinski is batting .438 with seven RBIs, second on the team to B.J. Upton, who has eight.
Longoria is batting.389.

Hot arms
Kurt Birkins, Scott Munter and David Price followed Shields, throwing a scoreless inning each against the Twins.

Roger Mooney, Herald Staff Writer