White Sox keep rolling the right way with 8-2 win over Yankees
As James Shields goes, so go the Chicago White Sox?
Well, not exactly, considering Shields only factors into one of every five games.
But when he first joined the Sox a month ago after being traded from the San Diego Padres, Shields gave his new team little or no chance to win.
In his first 3 starts with the White Sox, Shields pitched just 8⅔ innings and was tagged for 21 earned runs on 24 hits.
"You look at it and you do have a wonder of what's going on and try to find a way to fix it," manager Robin Ventura admitted.
Shields has found a fix, and he has pitched much more like his old self in his last 3 starts, allowing 6 earned runs on 18 hits in 17⅔ innings.
"I think No. 1 is he's getting ahead," Dioner Navarro said after catching Shields in Monday's 8-2 victory over the New York Yankees at U.S. Cellular Field. "He's throwing strikes early in the count and he's pitching ahead in the count. You could see it, every time he fell behind he kind of got in some trouble and then he pitched ahead in the count again.
"I think him getting ahead of hitters is going to be a huge plus."
While winning his second straight start, Shields pitched 6 innings and held New York to 2 runs on 5 hits.
It's really been an easy fix. With a fastball that has lost some zip, Shields now gets most of his outs with off-speed pitches out of the strike zone.
But opposing hitters weren't biting in his first 3 starts with the Sox because Shields always seemed to be behind in the count. That forced the 34-year-old veteran to throw fastballs over the heart of the plate, and the results were predictably dreadful.
Now, Shields is consistently getting ahead, and the results are encouraging.
"I felt I was pounding the zone today, trying to get ahead of hitters," said Shields, who gave up a 2-run homer to Chase Headley in the second inning. "Even the home run, I made a pitch that was probably on the black on the inside corner and he made a good swing on it. But overall it was pretty good."
And - coincidence or not - the White Sox have been pretty good ever since Shields righted his ship with a solid start at Boston on June 23.
"These guys were struggling when I got here," Shields said. "But they had a great attitude, they're grinding from the first inning to the ninth inning every single game, and that hasn't stopped since I've been here. We're definitely heading in the right direction now."
The offense provided Shields and the bullpen with plenty of run support, and Tim Anderson and Navarro each hit 2-run homers off New York starter CC Sabathia.
"I think the most important thing is everybody knows their role," Navarro said. "Everybody's doing the little things. Anderson's getting on, (Adam) Eaton is doing his thing and everybody one through nine, I think everybody on this team knows their role and we were going out there and grinding every at-bat."