James Shields walked to the White Sox dugout to a standing ovation from a good portion of the crowd of 39,553 at U.S. Cellular Field on Tuesday night, a happy introduction to the City Series for the veteran right-hander.
It was a stark contrast from the initial reception Sox fans gave him about seven weeks earlier, when he was booed off the field after flopping in his club debut and the next two starts after that.
Sox manager Robin Ventura even dropped a "Big Game James" reference in Tuesday night's news conference after Shields pitched 7 2/3 shutout innings to fuel a 3-0 Sox victory over the Cubs.