Rays 4, Royals 0

Evan Longoria knocked in four runs and James Shields pitched his fourth shutout of the season as the Tampa Bay Rays blanked the visiting Kansas City Royals 4-0 on Tuesday.

Longoria singled in two runs in the first inning and belted a two-run homer in the sixth as the Rays won for the fifth time in their last seven games. Longoria has nine RBIs during his six-game hitting streak.

Shields (11-9), who has won three of his last four starts, allowed six hits and struck out eight in his major league-leading eighth complete game of the season. He has six career shutouts.

Johnny Damon had two hits for the Rays, including his first bunt single of the season, and scored twice.

Eric Hosmer became the first player this season to steal a base off Shields when he swiped second in the fourth inning. Shields leads the majors in pickoffs with 10.

Kansas City's Jeff Francis (4-12) retired 15 in a row after giving up two runs in the first. He allowed five hits in seven innings, including three in the sixth.

Mike Moustakas and Alcides Escobar had two hits apiece for the Royals.

The game lasted 1 hour, 53 minutes, the shortest game in Rays history.
Final1st2nd3rd4th5th6th7th8th9thRHE
Kansas City RoyalsRoyals000000000060
Tampa Bay RaysRays200002000450
WP:James Shields (TB)
LP:Jeff Francis (KC)
Season Series
Tampa BayStatsKansas City
5-2Vs2-5
.253Batting Average.266
4.4Runs / Game3.4
5Home Runs2
6Errors1