Gameday Preview: Shane McClanahan Seeks 10th Win in Rare Visit to Cincinnati For Rays

For the first time since 2014, the Tampa Bay Rays are in Cincinnati to take on the Reds in a three-game series. The Rays have had a lot of success against National League teams so far this season, going 10-3 in interleague play.

CINCINNATI, Ohio — The Tampa Bay Rays look to continue their dominance over the National League when they start a three-game series against the Cincinnati Reds on Friday night. And they've got the perfect pitcher on the mound to get that done.

Lefty Shane McClanahan, who's leading the American League in earned run average and strikeouts, gets the call for the 6:40 p.m. ET game. The Rays are 10-3 so far this season against the National League, and that included a 10-game winning streak that was snapped two weeks ago when they lost back-to-back games to the Milwaukee Brewers. This is their first game in Cincinnati since 2014.

McClanahan has been terrific all year, with eye-popping numbers. He's 7-1 in his last 10 starts, and he's only given up a total of eight earned runs during that stretch.

Here's how to watch Friday's game, along with all the pregame news you need.

How to watch Rays at Reds

• Who: Tampa Bay Rays (45-37) at Cincinnati Reds (29-54)
• When: 6:40 p.m. ET, Friday, July 8
• Where: Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati, Ohio
• TV: Bally Sports Sun
• Stream: Fubo.tv CLICK HERE
• Announcers: Dewayne Staats (play-by-play), Brian Anderson (color commentary) and Tricia Whitaker (reporter).
• Radio: WDAE 95.3 FM, SiriusXM Channel 175 (Reds announcers; Rays online)
• Announcers: Andy Freed and Dave Wills.
• Latest line: The Rays are favored at minus-176 on the money line in according to the Fanduel.com website opening line as of Friday morning. The Reds are plus-148. The over/under is 7.5. It's the largest line on the road all year for the Rays.

Projected pitchers

• SHANE McCLANAHAN, RAYS: Shane McClanahan is 9-3 with a 1.72 earned run average this season. Only Tony Gonsolin of the Los Angeles Dodgers (1.62) and his 133 strikeouts are No. 2 in all of baseball, too, behind only Corbin Burnes of the Milwaukee Brewers. McClanahan beat Toronto last Saturday, and it was his  10th consecutive start of six or more innings pitched with seven or more strikeouts and two or fewer runs allowed. That's the longest streak in American League history since such records started being kept in 1901 and the third-longest in the majors, according to Baseball Reference. Only Randy Johnson (14) of the Arizona Diamondbacks in 1999 and Mike Scott (12) of the Houston Astros in 1986 have longer streaks.
• LUIS CASTILLO, REDS: Luis Castillo, a 29-year-old right-hander from the Dominic Republic who is in his sixth season with the Reds, is 3-4 on the year with a 3.09 ERA, and he's been very good lately. He pitched six scoreless innings against the Chicago Cubs on June 28 and allowed just one run in seven innings against the Atlanta Braves on July 3. 

Projected lineups

• TAMPA BAY RAYS: Yandy Diaz 3B, Wander Franco SS, Ji-Man Choi 1B, Harold Ramirez DH, Randy Arozarena LF, Kevin Kiermaier CF, Isaac Paredes  2B, Rene Pinto C, Josh Lowe RF, Shane McClanahan P.
• CINCINNATI REDS: Jonathan India 2B, Brandon Drury 1B, Tommy Pham LF Kyle Farmer SS, Donovan Solano 2B, Matt Reynolds 3B, Nick Senzel CF, Albert Almora Jr. RF,  Michael Papierski C, Luis Castillo P.

Newsy nuggets

• Nugget No. 1 — Brandon Lowe update: Rays second baseman Brandon Lowe got hit in the head with a pitch during his first at-bat at Triple-A Durham during a rehab game on Thursday night, but Kevin Cash before Friday's game that he's going to be OK. "He's doing much better. The headache has subsided and if he feels better, he'll do something (Saturday) if he still feels good,'' Cash said. "Obviously it was a scary moment, so I'm happy he's doing better.'' 
• Nugget No. 2 — Yu Chang joins Rays: The Rays added Yu Chang to the active roster after he was claimed off waivers from the Pirates on Tuesday. He was in the Cleveland organization before going to Pittsburgh, so he said he knows several Rays players, including Yandy Diaz, Harold Ramirez and Shawn Armstrong. He can play all over the infield, and Cash said he's glad to gave him on the roster. "We don't know him that well, but he's a good guy who can play all over the infield, plays really good defense, and we'll mix and match just like we do with everybody else,'' Cash said. "He's excited to be here.'' He will wear No. 9 for the Rays.
• Nugget No. 3 — Luis Patino throwing again: Rays pitcher Luis Patino is back to throwing again after dealing with a blister issue that slowed down his rehab assignment in Durham. "He's going to throw a bullpen (Saturday) and his blister is feeling better,'' Cash said. He's been dealing with an oblique injury since the first week of the season, and is probably still a few weeks away from returning to the big leagues. 
• Nugget No. 4 — Good glove work: The Rays made only three errors in 13 games since June 24, compared to 10 errors in the previous 13 games and 24 in the previous 31 games.