James Shields wants to move on from a disastrous 2016 season and show he's still a capable major league pitcher.
The right-hander's effort on Thursday afternoon is definitely a good first step. Shields was effective into the sixth inning and the White Sox offense pounded the Detroit Tigers 11-2 in front of 10,842 at Guaranteed Rate Field. Geovany Soto blasted two home runs and drove in four runs and Matt Davidson tripled and hit a three-run homer in support of Shields, who won for only the second time in his last 13 starts.
The conditions didn't appear to favor Shields, who yielded 40 homers in 2016, including 31 in 114 1/3 innings with the White Sox.