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 Archer and three Tampa Bay Rays relievers combined to shutout the
Kansas City Royals 1-0 on Tuesday night.
Right-hander Joel Peralta (1-1) struck out second baseman Danny
Valencia to end the eighth inning with the bases loaded to pick up
the victory. Closer Grant Balfour worked around a leadoff single in
the ninth to log his second save.
Rays first baseman James Loney, who led the majors with a
club-record .351 road batting average last year, drove home right
fielder Wil Myers with a two-out, ninth-inning single for the game's
only run. Myers opened the inning with an infield single and moved
to second on a wild pitch by Royals reliever Greg Holland (0-1).
"That's what you're looking for, a softly hit ball," Holland said.
"That's not the first time that someone hits one soft and gets on
first. Those things happen and unfortunately I didn't get us out of
it."
Myers' hit snapped an 0-for-15 slump.
"This is the worst start I've ever had in professional baseball,"
said Myers, the 2013 American League rookie of the year. "Looking up
at that .172 average is not fun. I've had struggles before, but just
not at the start of the season."
The Rays won despite collecting just four hits, two of them in the
ninth.
Archer pitched out of a bases-loaded, one-out mess in the third
inning. He gave up a single to Royals shortstop Alcides Escobar, and
center fielder Jarrod Dyson reached on second baseman Ben Zobrist's
error when he dropped a relay throw. Right fielder Nori Aoki loaded
the bases with a bunt single down the third-base line.
However, first baseman Eric Hosmer grounded into an inning-ending
double play on the first pitch.
Again in the sixth, Archer wiggled out of a bases loaded, one-out
jam.
"Most of that was due to Jose (Molina, catcher)," Archer said. "We
were completely in sync. I was like his robot. He'd punch in the
numbers and I'd do what he said. He definitely came up with some
really good calls.
"My mentality is always the same. I'm out there not trying to give
up anything."
Archer needed to produce zeroes on the scoreboard to match Royals
hard-throwing rookie right-hander Yordano Ventura, who threw six
scoreless innings, yielded two hits, struck out six and walked none.
Tampa Bay left fielder David DeJesus led off the game with a single
and Zobrist doubled to right-center field with one out in the
fourth. Zobrist was the only Ray to get past first base off Ventura.
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"He's been the talk of Kansas City Royals pitchers for some years,"
Archer said. "But we did what we had to do and got his pitch count
up, somewhat. He threw hard, and their closer throws hard, too, but
throwing a good heater isn't everything."
Said Ventura, "I felt really good. Salvador (Perez, the catcher)
called a really good game and my defense helped me out a lot."
Aoki led off the Royals' first with a single, but Archer promptly
picked him off first base. Archer walked Perez to open the fourth,
but designated hitter Billy Butler grounded into a double play.
Escobar reached on an infield single with two out in the fifth and
stole second, but Dyson grounded out to Zobrist to end the inning.
"Their young guy is really good, and ours was too," Rays manager Joe
Maddon said. "We've been hitting the ball hard, but we didn't
tonight. It was a really well played game. Wil had the good year
last year, but we still have to nurture him through this second
season, stay with him, keep talking to him."
NOTES: The Rays placed LHP Matt Moore on the disabled list with an
elbow injury, and he will be examined further by Dr. James Andrews
on Wednesday in Florida after a MRI was inconclusive on Tuesday.
Moore left in the fifth inning Monday with pain in his elbow after
throwing a pitch. ...Royals 2B Omar Infante needed six stitches to
close a cut after being struck in the jaw by a Heath Bell pitch in
the seventh inning Monday. Infante, however, did not suffer a
fracture and will be evaluated over the next 48 hours. INF Danny
Valencia replaced him at second base. ...The Rays called up LHP Jeff
Beliveau from Triple-A Durham, where he pitched two perfect innings
with two strikeouts Saturday in his lone appearance. ...CF Jarrod
Dyson made his first start of the season as CF Lorenzo Cain was
given the night off.
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
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