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Making only his second major league start, Moore looked like an ace in pitching seven innings of two-hit ball Friday as the improbable Tampa Bay Rays opened the playoffs with a 9-0 victory over the defending AL champion Texas Rangers.
Kelly Shoppach homered twice and drove in five runs, Johnny Damon also homered and Tampa Bay dominated the whole way behind their 22-year-old rookie pitcher.
“I may have looked a little more calm than I was, especially early. The first inning, I had a little bit of nerves and adrenaline going,” Moore said.
“But these guys made it really easy for me, putting up those numbers. Looking up there after the fourth, I think it was 8-0, it was just a matter of throwing strikes and getting out of the innings as fast as possible,” he said.
The Rays played for the first time since their dramatic rally on the final day of the regular season. Since Tampa Bay needed every out simply to overcome Boston’s nine-game lead in the last 31/2 weeks to win the wild card, manager Joe Maddon had to focus on getting to this point over trying to set up his ideal pitching rotation.
When Maddon had to pick a rested starter for Game 1 of the AL Division Series rematch, he had no qualms choosing the left-hander who made his first start last week at Yankee Stadium and struck out 11 in five scoreless innings.
And just that quickly, Moore has gone from top pitching prospect to postseason phenom. Facing the AL’s top-hitting team, Moore struck out six and walked two.
“He was outstanding,” Maddon said. “Pounding the strike zone right there with all of his pitches gave him and me and us a lot more confidence in the moment. He’s got that kind of composure. … You can’t be more impressed. What he did tonight was spectacular.”
Rookie Brandon Gomes and Wade Davis both pitched a hitless inning in relief to complete the first shutout in the Rays’ postseason history.
Game 2 is tonight. James Shields will start for the Rays against Derek Holland.
Moore, who had thrown only 9 innings in the majors before this start, took a deep breath before his first pitch. He was smiling by the late innings and greeted by hugs and high-fives in the dugout after he had thrown his last pitch — he threw 98 in all, 62 for strikes.
No pitcher had ever started a postseason opener with only one previous career start until the seemingly unfazed Moore took the mound at Rangers Ballpark.
Having the youngster on the mound led to another important decision for Maddon, who opted to go with the light-hitting Shoppach behind the plate.
The catcher from nearby Fort Worth homered twice off Rangers ace left-hander C.J. Wilson and matched a Rays postseason record with five RBI.
Texas and Tampa Bay have picked up where they left off last postseason, when the visiting team won every game in their five-game series. That’s the only time that has ever happened in the majors.
The Rangers won that series, helped by Cliff Lee, and then went on to beat the Yankees in the AL Championship Series before losing to San Francisco in five games in the World Series. Texas has a 3-9 record in postseason games at Rangers Ballpark, where it had never won a playoff game before last year.
