THREE UP
The Devil Rays’ James Shields took a two-hitter into the eighth inning of a 4-2 win over the Royals. It was his 9th outing in a row of at least seven innings. He has exited 11 of his 12 starts with the lead or the score tied — the 12th was a complete-game victory.
Derek Lowe pitched six no-hit innings for the Dodgers, who held on for a 6-5 win over the Pirates. Freddy Sanchez singled leading off the seventh. Lowe got his final 18 outs on ground balls or strikeouts and gave up more runs (four) than he did hits (three).
Braves rookie Yunel Escobar drove an opposite-field blast to right for his first career homer, one of four hits on the night for the youngster who defected from Cuba. But his offense wasn’t enough for Atlanta, which lost 6-4 to the Marlins (this paragraph as published has been corrected in this text). THREE DOWN
Florida sent eight men to the plate in the fifth against the Braves and tough-luck Tim Hudson, benefiting from a pair of walks, an error and a dropped third strike that should have ended the inning with the Braves down 4-3. Instead Aaron Boone’s single made it 6-3.
Royals third baseman Alex Gordon, expected to challenge for AL rookie of the year honors, was back in the lineup after being rested Sunday and went 0-for-4. He is hitless in 18 at-bats, dropping his average to .172. He hasn’t been above .200 this year.
Jon Lieber yielded five runs and 10 hits in five-plus innings of the Phillies’ 8-1 loss to the Giants. He’s given up 14 runs and 29 hits in three starts after posting a 2.50 ERA in his first six. Manager Charlie Manuel said the team has no plans to move him back to the bullpen.
