By: John Mamola

Ian Kinsler’s solo home run in the bottom of the fourth inning is all the offense the Texas Rangers would need as they defeat the Tampa Bay Rays 1-0.  James Shields continued his dominance since the MLB trade deadline, but the Rays offense simply could not score off Yu Darvish who struck out ten Rays hitters in seven innings of work.

Yu Darvish sent the Rays to their fourth 1-0 loss in the month of August by getting out of jams all evening long.  The Rays had their chances to score all evening long but failed to do so by leaving eight men on base and with only one hit in ten chances with runners in scoring position. 

Shields continued his hot streak since the July 31^st deadline.  Shields pitched seven innings allowing one run on three hits, striking out eight.  Shields in his last five starts has allowed ten earned runs in 32 2/3 innings, amassing a stellar 2.27 ERA.

Rays batters struck out fourteen times as Yu Darvish earns his 13^th win of the season.  Joe Nathan pitched a scoreless ninth to earn his 27^th save of the season. 

The Rays will look to avoid the sweep tomorrow night as they send Alex Cobb to the hill against Matt Harrison for the Rangers.  Catch all the action on 970am WFLA with a 6:30pm pre-game and an 7:05pm first pitch.