ARLINGTON, Texas — Matt Moore went to the mound as the ultimate wild card.
Seven innings later, he walked off as a postseason ace.
Making only his second major- league start, the 22-year-old rookie pitched two-hit ball and left with a huge lead Friday as the Tampa Bay Rays opened the playoffs with a 9-0 victory over the defending AL champion Texas Rangers.
“You can’t be more impressed,” Rays manager Joe Maddon said. “What he did tonight was spectacular.”
A minor-leaguer until mid-September, Moore dazzled with his pitching and poise. He took a deep breath before his first delivery, then was in total control for a team that already had played a month’s worth of tense games.
“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.”
Kelly Shoppach, a .176 hitter in the regular season, homered twice and drove in five runs, Johnny Damon also homered and Tampa Bay dominated the whole way.
No pitcher had ever started a postseason opener with only one previous career start until Moore took the mound at Rangers Ballpark.
Rookie Brandon Gomes and Wade Davis each pitched a hitless inning in relief to complete the first shutout in Rays postseason history.
After Rangers starter C.J. Wilson hit Ben Zobrist with a pitch in the second, Damon followed with a two-run homer to right that put the Rays ahead to stay. What looked like a high popup by Damon just kept carrying and hit the front-row rail just beyond the 8-foot wall.
“Johnny hitting that home run early kind of gave us all a chance to just breathe,” Shoppach said.
Shoppach followed with a single and later scored on a hit by Matt Joyce for a 3-0 lead. An inning later, Shoppach hit a 410-foot homer to straightaway center.
More than enough for Moore.
“Once he got the lead, the kid took it to the finish line. He is special. You have to give him credit for that,” Rangers manager Ron Washington said.
Key moment
Damon leads hit parade
After a scoreless first inning, Johnny Damon connected in the top of the second inning off Rangers ace C.J. Wilson for a two-run home run, his 10th career in the postseason. The Rays kept the hits coming the rest of the way and cruised to the 9-0 victory.
Star of the game
Rays’ Moore shines
The 22-year-old Matt Moore, who appeared in 27 minor-league games this season, threw an absolute gem in Tampa Bay’s 9-0 victory over Texas in Game 1. Moore allowed only two hits in seven innings, striking out six and walking two.
