Another big game for James Shields as ace pitcher extends Royals’ postseason run

James Shields fired strike three past Chris Iannetta to end the sixth inning and, like the 40,657 at Kauffman Stadium, let out a scream.

By this point the Royals were well on their way to an 8-3 blowout of the Angels to clinch the American League Division Series and advance in the postseason. That did not lessen the energy one watt.

Shields didn’t paint a masterpiece Sunday, but this one was suitable for framing.

“That was the game plan, keep us in the game through the sixth,” Royals manager Ned Yost said.

Shields was the winning pitcher in the first playoff series-clinching game for the Royals since Bret Saberhagen won game seven of the 1985 World Series. He also was the first Royal to collect the victory as a starting pitcher in four postseason games this year.

He’s no stranger to this stage.

Shields, who brought a winning approach to the clubhouse when he was traded from the Tampa Bay Rays after the 2012 season, collected his first postseason victory since the 2008 World Series. Shields was the winning pitcher in the Rays’ lone triumph against the Phillies.

By then, his Rays teammates were calling him “Big Game” James Shields, and the Royals were looking for that kind of night from their No. 1 starter, better than what he brought in the postseason opener last week in the Wild Card Game against the Oakland A’s.

Shields labored through five innings that night, leaving with a 3-2 lead but with two runners on in the fifth. His final line included four earned runs.

Sunday was much better, but it didn’t start well. The Angels’ second hitter, Mike Trout, drove a Shields pitch deep into the seats to the left of the scoreboard, not far from where Trout dropped a home run into the fountain during the regular season.

“I didn’t want to wake the beast over there; those guys are such good hitters,” Shields said.

But the Royals responded with three runs in the first inning on Alex Gordon’s three-run double, and Shields didn’t pitch with a deficit the rest of the evening.

“To have Gordo clear the bases gave me a lot of confidence,” Shields said.

But there were stressful innings.

Albert Pujols opened the fourth with the Angels’ second home run, another bomb, and they weren’t finished. Erick Aybar doubled, and David Freese was hit by a pitch with one out. Shields induced a fielder’s choice ground-out by Josh Hamilton and struck out C.J. Cron to end the inning.

In the fifth, the Angels put two on with one out, and as it has done throughout the postseason, the Royals’ defense, specifically Lorenzo Cain, turned in highlight-reel stuff.

Cain came up with diving catches on successive hitters, Pujols and Howie Kendrick, to end the inning. Shields slowly walked off the mound, tipping his cap to Cain.

Two more Angels reached in the sixth, but Shields wiggled out, powering past Iannetta and ending his night. His final line: Six innings, six hits, six strikeouts and a huge victory.

“I was just grinding it out,” Shields said. “That’s what it’s all about. That’s what this game is all about. This is what I’m about, man.”

This story was originally published October 6, 2014 at 12:36 AM with the headline "Another big game for James Shields as ace pitcher extends Royals’ postseason run."