Rays beat Angels on walk-off wild pitch
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- An outstanding pitching duel ended on one errant pitch.
Matt Joyce scored from third on a wild pitch with two outs in the 10th inning and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Los Angeles Angels, 2-1, yesterday.
Joyce opened the 10th with a double off Fernando Rodney (0-1). After Ben Zobrist lined out and Casey Kotchman moved Joyce to third with a grounder, Rodney threw a 1-and-2 pitch into the dirt well off the plate that eluded catcher Hank Conger.
"Hank did all he could," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "That would have been an incredible stop."
Rays manager Joe Maddon gave credit to Kotchman for advancing the runner and the lead Joyce got on third before the wild pitch.
"Especially with a guy like Rodney. He's going to throw some balls in the dirt," Maddon said.
The Rays, at 15-12, are the first team to finish April with a winning record after opening the season with a six-game losing streak.
Tampa Bay's James Shields took a shutout into the ninth before giving up a double to Torii Hunter to open the inning. Kyle Farnsworth came in and Hunter later scored to tie it at 1 on Howie Kendrick's grounder.
Farnsworth had converted all five of his previous save opportunities this season. The righthander was OK after taking Vernon Wells' grounder in the ninth off his shin.
Joyce also homered for the Rays, who have won six of seven. Joel Peralta (1-0) struck out two during a perfect 10th.
Angels righthander Joel Pineiro gave up one run and four hits over seven innings in his first start this year. He started the regular season on the 15-day disabled list due to right shoulder tightness. Pineiro retired eight in a row to begin the game before Reid Brignac's third-inning single.
Shields allowed one run, six hits, one walk and tied a career-high with 12 strikeouts in eight-plus innings. He had a stretch of 21 scoreless innings end.
-- AP
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