KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Kansas City Royals exercised their $13.5 million option on right-hander James Shields on Thursday after he anchored one of the leagues best starting rotations last season. Shields, acquired last off-season in a trade from Tampa Bay, went 13-9 with a 3.15 ERA and an AL-leading 228 2-3 innings. Shields was especially strong after the All-Star break, going 9-3 with a 3.06 ERA to help the Royals get into playoff contention. Kansas City went 43-27 after the break to finish 86-76, its best record since 1989. "The second half, we pretty much figured it out -- figured out how to win and what it takes on a daily basis," Shields said. "I think going into next spring training, we all have that good frame of mind, that good attitude, and hopefully well have a good season next year." The decision Thursday to exercise Shields option was mostly a formality. The Royals sent top prospect Wil Myers and a package of other minor leagues to the Rays to acquire him, and they werent about to let him go after just one season in their rotation. Especially the way he pitched this season, giving the Royals the kind of bona fide ace that they havent had since Zack Greinke was plying his trade a few years ago. "I feel good about it. I feel like I pitched well for them last year," Shields said. "Im just excited to be back and be a Royal and have a good season next year." Shields, who earlier Thursday won the Joe Burke Special Achievement Awarded presented by the Kansas City chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America, said he hasnt discussed a new contract with Royals general manager Dayton Moore. He did say he was open to remaining in Kansas City beyond next season. "When that times comes, Ill definitely be focused on it," Shields said. "The one thing I do know is I love the city. The organization is great. Ive been here for one year and weve made tremendous strides. Their willingness to want to win is what intrigues me." In the meantime, Shields just might become the Royals best recruiter. Ervin Santana and Bruce Chen, who both pitched well this past season, became free agents on Thursday, and Shields said that he will stay in touch with them through text messages. Santana in particular figures to be among the most coveted starters on the free-agent market after going 9-10 with a career-best 3.24 ERA. He threw 211 innings this season. "You have to understand the business of the game," Shields said, "but we would love to have them back. Bruce brings veteran leadership, Magic brings veteran leadership, and both of those guys had phenomenal years. Magic was lights-out. We counted on him every five days." The Royals are also in need of help in right field and at second base, so they might be reluctant to give Santana the kind of money that hell demand on the open market. They also have several promising arms in the minor leagues, including flamethrower Yordano Ventura and youngster Kyle Zimmer, who expect to compete for a rotation spot in spring training. "Its been amazing, just the transformation, how this organization has been working the last four or five years," Shields said. "Just to see all the guys that went through the system and how they did this year, and the year we had, was truly amazing." nfl jerseys china .C. -- In a business where players and management are often looking at the long term, a six-month contract extension was the best solution for Kenny Miller and the Vancouver Whitecaps. cheap nfl jerseys . Hamilton (6-7-3) struck first at 7:34 of the first period on the power play when defenceman Nathan Beaulieu notched his first goal of the season, assisted by forwards Martin St. Pierre and Nick Tarnasky. Lake Erie (8-6-1) forward Garrett Meurs replied at 7:56 of the second period to tie the game 1-1, with assists going to forward Mark Olver and defenceman Mikael Tam. http://www.cheapnfljerseys2015.us.com/ .J. -- Ed Reed is unsure what his football future holds. cheap jerseys from china . The last two games, however, the Padres have been resolute. Chris Denorfia hit a go-ahead RBI single in the seventh inning and San Diegos bullpen was stingy with runners on base, leading the Padres to a 3-2 victory over the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday night. cheap jerseys .J. -- Rex Ryan is sticking with Geno Smith. OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Oakland Athletics will play another day in this improbable season full of remarkable rallies. These As never count themselves out -- down and doubted is their dogma. Brett Anderson outdueled fellow post-season first-timer Anibal Sanchez and the upstart Athletics showed off stellar defence all over the diamond, avoiding another playoff sweep by Detroit by beating the Tigers 2-0 Tuesday night in their AL division series. The As cut their deficit in the best-of-five matchup to 2-1. Coco Crisp, whose misplay dearly cost Oakland in Game 2, saved a likely home run by Prince Fielder with a leaping catch at the top of the centre-field wall in the second inning. "You see him hit it and you just kind of put your head down a little bit because you think you just gave up a homer," Anderson said. "Then you see him plow through there and catch the ball and it kind of kick starts you to go out there and make pitches." Yoenis Cespedes hit an RBI single in the first inning and Seth Smith homered in the fifth. That was plenty on a night Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera, Fielder and the Tigers high-priced offence were shut down by the low-budget As. Tigers 16-game winner Max Scherzer will try to close out the series in Game 4 Wednesday night against As rookie A.J. Griffin. Detroit swept the As in the 2006 AL championship series. Fielder was the biggest victim of Oaklands spot-on defence, robbed three times. First by Crisp, Oaklands most experienced player whose blunder on Cabreras fly allowed two runs to score in a 5-4 loss Sunday in Detroit. "Not to be all over-confident or anything, I think Im going to catch everything out there," Crisp said. "Obviously it doesnt happen that way -- duh Detroit, right?" Crisp let out a big "Whoo!" after raising his arm to signal hed made the grab. "Cocos catch, the ball was out of the ballpark and it came back," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "The key to that play was he was playing deep and that enabled him to get into a spot to get up and make the catch. And it was a great catch, no doubt about it." As shortstop Stephen Drew made a tough play running to his left to stop Fielders grounder in the fourth and then threw to first while still off balance and in motion. Then, in the seventh, Cespedes cut over to make a diving catch on Fielders liner to left field. That delighted the yellow towel-waving sellout crowd of 37,090 in this blue-collar city. "Its frustrating. But its a good team youre playing," Fielder said. "Theyre going to make those plays, thats why theyre here." After Cabrera singled with one out in the ninth, Fielder grounded into a game-ending double play. The As own the lowest payroll in baseball at $59.5 million. Fielder is getting big money in Motown: $214 million over nine years. Anderson, back on the mound for the first time since straining a muscle in his right side Sept. 19 at Detroit, worked quickly and showed no signs of a layoff or jitters in his first post-season start. Thats just not the way the As have operated this year. Last week, Oakland entered its final three-game series of the regular season needing to sweep the two-time reigning AL champion Rangers to capture the AL West -- and the As did it, sending a stunned Texas team to the one-game wild card, which it lost too Baltimore.dddddddddddd A club with a majors-best 14 walkoff wins and countless whipped cream pie celebrations snapped the longest post-season skid in franchise history at six games. All of those against the Tigers, too. The Tigers are trying to reach second straight AL championship series after losing last years ALCS in six games to the Rangers. Detroit captured the AL Central in Oakland last year and is hoping for another clinching party as soon as possible. Anderson did his job to delay it. He insisted he was healthy and ready to go -- and manager Bob Melvin took his pitcher at his word and gave him a shot in his biggest start yet. Anderson had shown plenty when he returned in August following a 14-month absence recovering from elbow-ligament replacement surgery and made six impressive starts. Not feeling quite 100 per cent, he allowed two hits, struck out six and walked two in six innings. He was on a pitch count of 80 and was done at exactly that, though was never told about it beforehand. "I dont know how you could expect more than we got out of him tonight," Melvin said. Next, the reliable bullpen took over. Ryan Cook pitched the seventh, Sean Doolittle struck out the side in order in the eighth and closer Grant Balfour finished the four-hitter for a save. The As staff pitched the 11th post-season shutout by the franchise, while the Tigers were blanked for the 13th time in the post-season. The As had lost five straight while facing elimination in the post-season, one shy of the longest active streak by the Twins. But this group has defied expectations ever since the first full workout at spring training back in February when the As lost third baseman Scott Sizemore to a season-ending knee injury. Opening day starter Brandon McCarthy took a line drive to the head Sept. 5 and needed brain surgery. Starter Bartolo Colon was suspended for 50 games in August for a positive testosterone test. Oakland became the first team in major league history to win the division or pennant after trailing by five or more games with fewer than 10 to go. The As were five back of the Rangers with nine left, then won their final six all at home with sweeps of Seattle and Texas. Smith hit a towering drive to the deepest part of centre field in the fifth for yet another timely home run for the As, whose 112 longballs after the All-Star break led the majors. "Thats how you win post-season baseball games, with pitching and defence and timely hitting," Smith said. "We had that. We got two runs and thats all we needed. Anderson was great and our defence was, too." Sanchez gave up five hits and two runs in 6 1-3 innings, struck out three and walked two. NOTES: Smith hit his first post-season homer and third lifetime against Sanchez in 15 at-bats. ... At 24 years, 251 days, Anderson became the fifth-youngest pitcher in Oakland history to make his first career post-season start. ... Both Bay Area teams avoided elimination after the NL West champion San Francisco Giants won at Cincinnati earlier in the night. ... Oakland sold out for the eighth time this year and second straight -- the regular-season finale vs. Texas drew 36,067 -- including 1,000 standing-room only tickets and extra suite sales. It was the biggest crowd at the Coliseum since drawing 43,974 against the Yankees on Sept. 4, 2005, before the upper decks were tarped. cheap jerseys cheap nfl jerseys ' ' '