Just For Starters: Breaking Down Shane McClanahan's Start For Tampa Bay Rays
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Shane McClanahan, Tampa Bay's standout 24-year-old left-handed pitcher, was solid in his Opening Day start on Friday against the Baltimore Orioles.
He left in the fifth inning, nursing a 1-0 lead. It might seem early to get the hook, but keep in mind that spring training was short this year, and Rays manager Kevin Cash doesn't want to over-tax any of his pitchers early.
During every Rays game, we'll break down the starter's performance after he's left the game. And we'll update the final score when the game is over.
Here's what McClanahan did on Friday:
Rays' Starters By The Numbers
- Starter: Shane McClanahan
- Game: Friday, vs. Baltimore Orioles
- Innings pitched: 4 1/3
- Total pitches: 68
- Strikes: 44
- Runs allowed: 0
- Earned runs: 0
- Hits allowed: 4
- Walks allowed: 2
- Total HBP allowed: 1
- Total strikeouts: 7
- Status upon departure: Had a 1-0 lead with one out in the top of the fifth and a runner on first.
- The skinny: McClanahan did a great job of working out of trouble. He had the bases loaded in the first but got out of it, and had a base runner to deal with in three other innings as well, but no one scored. JT Chargois got the last two outs in the fifth.
Saturday's Starter: Drew Rasmussen
Drew Rasmussen will start Saturday's game for Tampa Bay when they take on the Orioles at 1:10 p.m. ET.
Rasmussen, who came to Tampa Bay from Milwaukee last year in the Willy Adames trade, breaks camp in the starting rotation for the first time. He was 4-0 with a 2.44 ERA last year in 20 appearances for the Rays, 10 of them starts. He ERA was just 1.93 in his starts.
He has handled the Orioles well. In three appearances covering 8 1/3 innings, he has allowed just one run.
Related stories on Rays baseball
- McCLANAHAN READY: Shane McClanahan got thrown right into the fire by the Tampa Bay Rays in 2020, pitching in four postseason games — including the World Series — before ever pitching in a regular season game. Now the 24-year-old is their Opening Day starter, and he's ready to go on Friday. CLICK HERE
- RAYS 2022 SCHEDULE: Here is the complete Tampa Bay Rays schedule for the 2022 season, with dates, locations and game times. This will be updated constantly with results and links to game stories, plus any adjustments to the schedule will be made here in real time as well, so bookmark this story and refer to it often. CLICK HERE
- OPENER SOLD OUT: The Tampa Bay Rays are set to start their 25th season on Friday, and they'll do it in front of a sell-out crowd at Tropicana Field when they take on the Baltimore Orioles. Game time is 3:10 p.m. ET, with several pregame ceremonies, including the unveiling of the 2021 AL East championship banner. CLICK HERE
- RAYS POSTSEASON HISTORY: The Tampa Bay Rays have made the playoffs seven times since 2008, and have won two American League pennants, Here's what they've done all-time in the postseason. CLICK HERE
Tom Brew is the publisher of Inside The Rays, and has been with the Sports Illustrated/FanNation network for three years. He is an award-winning writer and editor who has spent most of his four-decade career at the Tampa Bay Times, Indianapolis Star and South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He has written four books.