Mon Apr 28 15:00:26 2008

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Shields takes AL weekly honors

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New York, NY (Sports Network) - Tampa Bay Rays pitcher James Shields was named American League Player of the Week for the period ending April 27.

Shields went 2-0 with a 1.13 earned run average for the 14-11 Rays, who are in a virtual three-way tie with the Baltimore Orioles and the Boston Red Sox atop the AL East.

The 26-year-old right-hander fanned 12 batters while walking just three in 16 innings during the week. On Sunday afternoon, Shields spun a complete-game, two-hit shutout against the defending World Series champion Red Sox.

Others considered for this week's honor were Detroit's Magglio Ordonez, who batted .400 with three homers and 10 runs batted in; Texas' Josh Hamilton, who batted .429 with 10 runs batted in; and New York pitcher Chien-Ming Wang, who was 2-0 with a 2.08 ERA and 14 strikeouts.