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Devil Rays' Shields looks to continue pitching dominance

May 15, 2007 - 2:40 PM Texas (15-23) at Tampa Bay (15-22) 7:10 pm EDT

ORLANDO, Florida (Ticker) -- The Tampa Bay Devil Rays have been in a constant search for quality pitching since their inaugural season. They may have found an ace in James Shields.

The young righthander takes the mound in search of a win when the Devil Rays host the Texas Rangers at the Wide World of Disney in Orlando on Tuesday.

Shields (3-0, 3.10 ERA) pitched nine scoreless innings last Wednesday, yielding three hits and striking out four. The 25-year-old did not factor in the decision, however, as Baltimore starter Erik Bedard matched him and Tampa Bay went on to lose in the 10th inning.

Shields and Scott Kazmir make up a formidable top of the rotation for the Devil Rays, but the rest of the staff has struggled. The team ranks last in the major leagues with an ERA of 5.48.

The Rangers, no strangers to pitching woes themselves, will send Brandon McCarthy to the mound. Robinson Tejada was scheduled to make the start, but has been pushed back to Friday due to soreness in his right forearm.

McCarthy (3-4, 6.89) has picked up two wins in a row, yielding two earned runs in 11 1/3 innings. The 23-year-old righthander has seen his ERA drop from 9.90 to 6.89 over the two starts.

Texas dropped three of four to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim over the weekend, allowing 25 runs over four games to push the team ERA to 5.06, 28th in the majors.

The three-game series will be played at a 9,500-seat stadium in Orlando as Tampa Bay tries to open itself up as a more regional market.