My Two Cents: Zero Concern Over First-Ever Back-to-Back Losses by McClanahan, Rasmussen
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — For the first time all year, the Tampa Bay Rays trotted out Shane McClanahan and Drew Rasmussen in back-to-back games — and got beat twice.
We hadn't seen that ever happen before with their two dynamic young starters.
We've talked often this year about how good the Rays are when they have those two youngster on the mound. They were their No. 1 and No. 2 starters respectively when the season started, and they've been one of the best 1-2 punches in the American League. The Rays are 12-6 in Rasmussen starts this season, and 12-8 in McClanahan starts, a combined 24-14 total.
In all other games, the Rays — who have a 54-49 record after Tuesday night's 3-1 loss to Toronto — are just 30-35, five games UNDER .500.
What we saw the last couple of games doesn't concern me one bit with McClanahan and Rasmussen. Shane gave up a career-high five runs against the Guardians on Sunday and, sure, he wasn't his usual sharp self, but they also a bunch of bloop hits against him — like almost all of them.
I won't be the least bit surprised if completely shuts down the Detroit Tigers in his next start. He's 10-4 for a reason this year, and he's still among the league-leaders in ERA and strikeouts.
He's still an ace, a bunch of bloop hits not withstanding. I don't worry about the 25-year-old McClanahan one bit.
And the 26-year-old Rasmussen? He was really good again against Toronto on Tuesday night, throwing six innings of one-run ball. He's been really good all year, too. He's 6-4 now with a 3.08 ERA, and was only slowed down by a mild hamstring injury that landed him on the injured list for a few weeks in June.
Leading up the the IL stint, he struggled a bit through two starts, and maybe the hamstring — or simply some fatigue for a first-time starter — was an issue. He gave up five runs in three innings at Texas and four earned runs in 4 1/3 innings at Minnesota, his last start before getting shut down for three weeks.
Think about these numbers for a second. In his 16 starts when he's been feeling good, Rasmussen has pitched 81 innings and given up just 21 runs. That's a 2.33 ERA.
We can be real that Rasmussen lost Tuesday's game for giving up just that one run because the Rays only had two hits all night. The Rays' offense is in a real funk right now.
And the way I look at it, the Rays have been through this before. They've had stretches of struggles offensively, but then they've snapped out of it, too. Injuries are a real issue, not an excuse, and there's hope that reinforcements are coming by the end of the month, when Harold Ramirez, Manuel Margot and Wander Franco — arguably their best three hitters — should be scheduled to return.
The Rays' front office moves at the trade deadline were modest at best — and even that might be a slight exaggeration — but they are better offensively with David Peralta and Jose Siri. than they were will Brett Phillips and Josh Lowe playing in the outfield every day.
There's also hope that the Rays' bullpen will be adding a few more pieces soon, too. That matters. We've already seen how much getting Pete Fairbanks back has helped, and others are on their way soon, too. That will all make a difference down the home stretch.
The key now, of course, is for the Rays to remain in the playoff picture. They still hold down the No. 6 spot in the playoffs, just behind the Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners. But there are plenty of contenders lined up between them, with four teams — the Guardians, Orioles, White Sox and Red Sox — all two games or less behind them.
Just get in, and take it from there. It's the optimistic approach, to be sure, but I look at it this way: Don't you love the Rays' chances in a best two-of-three series with McClanahan and Rasmussen pitching the first two games?
This has been a tough stretch since the All-Star break, but I don't think it's permanent. I still think there are a lot of good things that can happen with the team.
And I'll start with McClanahan and Rasmussen, and ride it from there.
They're that good.
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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.