"The ninth inning is pure adrenaline. No time to be fancy. Just reach back, throw the ball, get outs.

That is how you finish a complete game, James Shields said Tuesday.

He would know.

Shields, whose goal this season was to throw one complete game, tossed his major league-leading eighth Tuesday when he and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Royals 4-0 in front of 10,124 at Tropicana Field.

At 1 hour, 53 minutes, it was the quickest nine-inning game in Rays history.

"I think a few guys started looking up at the clock and wondering if there was a stadium malfunction," Johnny Damon said.

It was the fourth shutout for Shields, which ties him with Derek Holland of Texas for the most in the American League.

"It felt nice," Shields said. "I want to go nine every time out. I was glad Joe (Maddon) gave me the ball there in the ninth. I didn't know whether or not he was going to pass it on to the bullpen."

Kyle Farnsworth was throwing in the bullpen as Shields retired the Royals in order in the ninth, but the Rays closer was getting ready just in case Shields ran out of gas.

He didn't, striking out Jeff Francoeur for the final out.

The Rays' runs were provided by Evan Longoria, who drove in two with a first-inning single and two more with a sixth-inning home run.

Longoria, who altered his pregame preparations this week and gave himself a crew cut Tuesday afternoon in hopes of shaking his season-long funk, was glad to finally have a big night.

"Sometimes it's pretty evident I'm frustrated. Although I try to keep that as internal as I can, at times it's been rough," he said. "To see the extra work actually pay off and contribute in a big way is a pretty big weight off my shoulders.""