Dominant Pitching Performance by Shane McClanahan Leads Rays Over Red Sox, 5-2
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Shane McClanahan didn't want to go there. Sure, he was Tampa Bay's Opening Day starter, but he's also not ready to have that No. 1 label — that ace label — attached to him.
Too bad, because everyone else will do it for him. He was outstanding yet again on Sunday, pitching a season-high seven innings and retiring 20 of 22 hitters in one stretch, allowing the Rays to beat the Boston Red Sox 5-2 at Tropicana Field.
"When I talked to him at the end of the game, I told him that's what top-of-rotation guys, the true aces, that's what they do to get out of jams,'' Rays catcher Mike Zunino said. "He worked through it, and for a young guy, he doesn't let the game speed him up. He fell into a nice groove and he had all four pitches working. It was just a great overall job by him.
"When you look how he works, hitters have to respect 97 (mph), and they have to respect his breaking pitches, because they're nasty. And now here comes this change-up, which he's really throwing well, too. He stayed locked in the whole game, with every pitch. He's really, really good, no doubt about that. He has 'ace' stuff for sure, and he has the mentality to pitch like it, too.''
McClanahan got the win, the first time in 16 games that a Rays starter got a positive decision. He's 1-1 on the year now, with a 2.45 earned run average, and he has 31 strikeouts in 22 innings.
He didn't have the start to the game that he wanted, giving up a double to Trevor Story on his first pitch and a run-scoring single to Kiki Hernandez on his second pitch. He allowed two more singles in the first, with Alex Verdugo driving in Hernandez for a 2-0 lead.
But that was it.
From there, McClanahan threw six scoreless innings, allowing just two harmless hits. The seven innings pitched were the longest by any starter this year, and he did it with only 86 pitches, 64 for strikes. He had seven strikeouts —and no walks.
His lockdown stuff allowed the Rays to get back into the game little by little. They tied the game in the fifth inning when Ji-Man Choi came off the bench to pinch-hit and hit a double off the left field wall that scored two runs. Manuel Margot then grounded out to shortstop, driving in the go-ahead run.
Choi has been putting up amazing numbers off the bench. That's the seventh straight time he's reached base as a pinch hitter, and he's gotten on base 12 of 13 times dating back to the start of the 2021 season, with 11 RBIs.
"Ji-Man, he's pretty spectacular coming off the bench,'' Rays manager Kevin Cash said. He's had a lot of success, but all those guys are just ready for the moment.''
The Rays added another run in the sixth. Kevin Kiermaier and Randy Arozarena both had infield singles, and moved up a base on a Wander Franco groundout. Kiermaier then scored on a wild pitch, and Arozarena tried to score from second, too, but was tagged out at home.
In the seventh, Yandy Diaz hit a home run to right for the fifth run. Colin Poche pitched the eighth, allowing only a walk, and Ryan Thompson threw a 1-2-3 ninth inning to get the save, his first of the season.
The Rays are now 9-7 on the season, and have won four of five games, including two of three against their AL East rivals, this same Boston team that knocked them out of the playoffs last year.
McClanahan has been showing signs on dominance of late, and Sunday
"He's been really efficient for us in every outing, really,'' Cash said. "Those terms get thrown around a lot — Opening Day, ace, No. 1 — but he fills up strikes, he's going to go deep in ball games and he's going to give us a chance to win every time out.
"His stuff is second to none.''
McClanahan doesn't care about any of those labels. The 24-year-old from Cape Coral, Fla., knows his job, knows that he has to take the ball every five days or so and help his team win. None of the rest of it really matters to him.
“I think once you start pitching for accolades or recognition, then you’re playing for the wrong things,'' McClanahan said. "Every time I go out there, I just want to help my team win, whatever I can do. Success is a by-product of that.’’
The Rays have Monday off and then will resume the long home stand with three-game series against the Seattle Mariners and Minnesota Twins. And beating the Red Sox is nice — ''it always is,'' Zunino said. Josh Fleming, Drew Rasmussen and Corey Kluber are expected to start against Seattle, with McClanahan opening the Minnesota series on Friday.
And with the day off looming, they feel good about things right now. Sunday's win was nice.
"It felt like a complete game,'' Cash said. Good defense, great pitching and some timely hits. I was very encouraged by that. This is a good team that expects to go out and play good, clean baseball.''
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.