Hey that says it all plain and simple.  SP James Shields was outgunned by Blue Jay SP Romero.  Romero had it and Shieldsy did not.  Shields gave up 3 long bombs for a total of 5 runs (4 ER) in 7 1/3 innings.  Shields scattered 7 hits and 1 walk while striking out 8.  The problem was the hits Shields did give up were of the long variety. 

The offense wasn’t much of a help either as they gave up 10 easy outs by way of the K and were 0 for 5 with RISP.  Pat Burrell proved ineffective once again by grounding into a double play with the bases loaded in the 7th.  This guy is proving to be a very poor DH – I’d rather see Willy get his at bats.  At least Willy usually puts the ball in play!    

The Rays offense managed just 4 hits off Romero and easily let him off the hook after each of them.  Ben Zobrist accounted for half the Ray offense collecting 2 hits in 2 attempts with 2 free passes.

Well this was a very unenthusiastic performance by the Rays to say the least.  I would have thought they’d come out gunning for this sweep but they looked like they lacked the desire to win this game.  Hopefully they improve on their desire to win by the time we hit the ground in Texas!

All in all – the Rays are 8-2 in their last 10 games.  Excellent streak they have going but they cannot let up now.  They need to go into the All Star break with momentum and come out strong on the other side.