Hats off: Shields hands over to the bullpen in the sixth

The Phillies threatened throughout the game, but Shields rose to the occasion each time, handing over a 4-0 lead to the bullpen in the sixth inning.

"I thought I pitched pretty well," the 26-year-old Shields said in the early hours of Friday.

"I had to battle through a lot of innings tonight."

Turnaround

It was fitting that Shields registered the first World Series win for Tampa Bay, who have turned their fortunes around this year after 10 seasons at the bottom of the American League, since he has a reputation for relishing a big challenge.

"They just started calling me 'Big Game' in the minor leagues," Shields said. "It was kind of a joke at first.

"I ended up pitching a couple of good games in the minor leagues and then (everybody) is calling me 'Big Game'.

"They don't call me by my first name anymore."

Rays manager Joe Maddon appreciates his "Big Game" hurler.

Butt worked off

"Shieldsie worked his butt off to get to that particular juncture of the game," Maddon said about holding the Phillies down for more than five innings.

"And that's exactly what we needed."

Maddon had a theory about how Shields got the nickname.

"I think primarily it comes from his attitude and his demeanour on the mound, his consistency," Maddon said.

"You feel pretty comfortable when he goes out there under those circumstances."

Shields said the experience of pitching in the Fall Classic brought a new level of excitement.

"This is the World Series. This is what as kids we dreamed of doing, and our crowd tonight was electric," he said about the 40,843 fans that packed into Tropicana Field.

"It's an exciting time in our lives and we're trying to enjoy the moment."

Cashing in

The Rays cashed in on their scoring chances while the Phillies failed to hit in the clutch against Shields.

Tampa Bay scored two runs in the first inning on ground outs, and another in the fourth on a squeeze bunt by Jason Bartlett on the way to building a 4-0 lead off Phillies starter Brett Myers.

Two late runs made it close but hard-throwing rookie David Price struck out Chase Utley and then retired slugger Ryan Howard on a grounder to end it.

Philadelphia, who out-hit the Rays 9-7, stranded 11 men on base in the game and failed to score with a man on third and one out in three successive innings as Shields came up with big strikeouts to escape trouble.

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