Major League Baseball

Rays 2, White Sox 1

Published Apr. 19, 2011 11:12 p.m. ET

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Manager Ozzie Guillen may tweak his lineup after the White Sox were held to four hits again Tuesday night.

James Shields struck out nine in a four-hitter and the surging Tampa Bay Rays beat Chicago 2-1 on Tuesday night for their seventh win in eight games.

''It's a combination of both,'' Guillen said. ''He pitched good and we're not swinging the bat well. We're struggling at the plate, big time.''

One change Guillen might make is dropping designated hitter Adam Dunn, who missed six games after having an emergency appendectomy on April 6, down in the lineup from his current third spot. Dunn went 0 for 4 on Tuesday night, including three strikeouts, and has two hits in his last 27 at-bats.

''Just so he can relax,'' Guillen said. ''When you're out for a few days, it takes you a little while to come back and regroup.''

Shields (1-1) outpitched John Danks and walked one in his sixth career complete game, and first since June 10, 2008, against the Los Angeles Angels.

''He threw the ball pretty good,'' Guillen said. ''Threw a lot of strikes. A nice combination of breaking balls, cutters.''

It was the second straight outstanding pitching performance for Tampa Bay. David Price and Joel Peralta combined on a four-hitter in a 5-0 win over the White Sox on Monday night.

Danks (0-2) gave up two runs and seven hits in seven innings for the White Sox, who have lost six in a row. The left-hander struck out five and hit two batters.

Guillen said the offensive struggles make it harder for the pitchers.

''They make one mistake, they could lose the game,'' Guillen said. ''You have to make every pitch count. You can not have the luxury to make a bad pitch. Obviously, you put more pressure on them.''

Danks held the Rays without a hit in six at-bats - including a pair of strikeouts by B.J. Upton - with runners in scoring position through three innings, and 0 for 8 overall.

''Our job is to go out there and give them a chance,'' Danks said.

The White Sox, who have scored just 29 runs over the last 10 games, tied it at 1 on the fifth. Carlos Quentin hit a leadoff double and scored on A.J. Pierzynski's one-out single to center.

The Rays went back in front in the bottom half on Sean Rodriguez's run-scoring triple.

Shields got some defensive help in the seventh from catcher Kelly Shoppach, who picked Paul Konerko off at first after Quentin struck out.

Shields ended the game by striking out Dunn and Konerko with Juan Pierre on second.

''I definitely needed to battle through those two guys,'' Shields said. ''They're some of the best hitters in the league and I made some decent pitches on them.''

Tampa Bay grabbed the lead in the first when Ben Zobrist tripled and scored on a grounder by Felipe Lopez, who had three RBIs in Monday's game. Zobrist entered hitless in 10 at-bats against Danks.

Designated hitter Johnny Damon (bruised left ring finger tip) and first baseman Dan Johnson (sore left forearm-wrist) were out of the Rays' lineup. Both could start again in the next couple days.

NOTES: Tampa Bay LF Sam Fuld, the replacement for All-Star Carl Crawford, received high praise from Rays manager Joe Maddon. ''There's no drop off,'' Maddon said. ''Sam's playing that level of defense right now. All the different things he's doing defensively, I can't say that Carl's better.'' Crawford signed with Boston during the offseason. ... Danks didn't allow a run in the first three innings of his other three starts this season. ... Danks hit two batters in a game for the first time.

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