The Rays rolled out a pair of aces Wednesday afternoon, using James Shields and Matt Garza against the Orioles.
Tampa Bay's Nos. 1 and 2 starters got in their work, then retreated to the clubhouse, both eagerly anticipating the beginning of the 2010 campaign.
Shields started and pitched one inning, walking one and striking out another. Garza allowed one run on one hit and one walk while striking out one in two innings.
Not only is Shields the probable No. 1 starter, but he's also an innings eater and a perennial 200-plus-inning guy. Seeing him for just one frame is an anomaly, to say the least. But stints like Wednesday's must be performed in order to build up the endurance to tackle six-plus innings once the season begins.
Aside from the work that must be done this spring, Shields smiled when talking about being back on the bump, pumping fastballs.
"Yeah, it's exciting," Shields said. "It's exciting, and I think the first time out, I held my own for my one inning. It's great to be out here, have that baseball atmosphere experience -- just walking to the bullpen and hearing the crowd yelling my name."
Shields said he got anxious before the outing, but he doesn't get the same kind of adrenaline during a Grapefruit League game as he does during the regular season.
"I got a little bit of adrenaline today," Shields said. "Once the season starts, those are the games that count, and the volume turns up a little bit."
Most would say Garza has the best stuff on the staff and that the sky is the limit for the right-hander. Garza seemed to experience a similar vibe to what Shields felt being back on the field again.
"[I] had that nervousness kick in, and that's when you know you're alive," Garza said.
Garza confessed to feeling some nerves before his outing, noting, "It's good."
"Once those things are gone, you may as well pack up and go home," Garza said. "I was real nervous today; [it] felt good."
Garza threw all fastballs and a changeup while resisting the urge to throw a slider in a situation that called for him to throw the pitch.
"There was a situation where I could have thrown a slider, but we face the Orioles 18 times this year," Garza said. "No reason to show them anything right now. These numbers don't count, as long as I get my work in and I feel good about it."
Neither Shields nor Garza wants to look in the rearview mirror. Shields said he was pleased with the effort of last year's team, noting that the 11-game losing streak at the beginning of September was the "one thing we were disappointed in." Meanwhile, Garza pointed out that 2009 is over and the Rays are now in '10.
Both are now mature Major League pitchers who know what it's like to prepare for and take part in a 162-game season.
"I'm just going to keep on doing what I've been doing," Shields said. "{And I'm gong to] try to be an inning eater. My main goal every year is to stay healthy."
Garza feels that being another year older and having another year of experience under his belt will benefit him greatly.
"Last year, I thought I had a pretty good season, but it's not what I hoped for," Garza said. "And this year, [I want to] just try and improve on what I did bad -- maybe cut down on my walks and make these guys beat me and not beat myself. And that's going to let me go deeper into the games, which means more innings, which takes a lot of pressure off the bullpen. If we can get into that seventh, eighth and ninth every time out, they're going to be happy about it."
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