After giving up a two run homer in the first inning, James Shields settled down against his former team, the Tampa Bay Rays, and held them down long enough for the bats to wake up in a 8-2 win for the Royals Tuesday night at Kauffman Stadium. Desmond Jennings opened the game with a single and Matt Joyce, on a 3-1 pitch, drove a two-run homer over the right-field wall and into the waterfall. After an out, Shields gave up a walk and double, but got out of the first with no more damage.
Following a single in the second and another in the third, Shields settled in and retired the last 13 batters he faced. Then the Royals bats came alive.
Rays starter Alex Cobb, who was 3-1 with a 1.82 ERA entering the game, breezed through the first five innings, before giving up four runs in the sixth. The big blow was a two run homer from Mike Moustakas, ending a streak of 129 at-bats without a homer. His first of the year gave the Royals a 3-2 lead.