Rays Blanked Again by Astros, McClanahan Leaves Early but Says He's Fine
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rays lost a baseball game on Tuesday, and they're hoping that's all they lost.
The Rays were shut out for the second night in a row by the Houston Astros, the American League's best team, losing 5-0 at Tropicana Field. But more concerning was the Rays ace Shane McClanahan had to leave the game early in the fifth inning with neck tightness.
The move was made as more of a precaution, according to Rays manager Kevin Cash. McClanahan said he's not concerned going forward, that it was just ''a little tweak,'' and even though he didn't want to come out, he understood the Rays' decision to be cautious.
"I fought to stay in the game, and I feel fine now. I felt fine five seconds after,” McClanahan said. "But in the middle of September, I respect the cautionary move, just getting off the IL. I can see the err of caution, but I feel fine and I'm ready to get back out there. I feel fine, and I can't stress that enough.
"I believe I will (make his next start on time). It was just one of those pitches, it was a little tweak, whatever you call it. It was the right move, but I feel like I'm still in a good spot and I'm looking forward to my next start.”
McClanahan, who was charged with all five runs, threw 80 pitches but didn't look comfortable early in that fifth inning, trying to stretch out by raising his left arm into the air, which he said had nothing to do with his neck, ''and has just become more of a habit.'' Rays manager Kevin Cash and the medical staff noticed him stretching his neck though, and got him out of the game right away.
"We're trying to make the best decision. It's his second time back from being on the IL and I think we all understand how important he is to our club,'' Cash said. ''If I see something that is uncharacteristic, I think the best course of action is to pull him out of the game and revisit. It's OK for him to be mad at me.
"I don't think (it's anything serious). In Toronto, we were very aware of every movement, every motion. He looked awesome, and I thought he looked good today. They're a good offense, and they're pushing 100 wins for a reason.''
With the win, the Astros moved to 98-51 on the year. The Rays dropped to 82-66, but Baltimore also lost, so the Rays' remain 5 1/2 games ahead of them for the final wild-card spot.
It's been a tough month or so for the Rays' top pitcher, who was so good earlier in the year that he started the All-Star Game for the American League. He was 11-5 with a nifty 2.20 earned run average on Aug. 30 when he was warming up in the bullpen to get ready for his start against the Miami Marlins. But he had left shoulder tightness that night, and couldn't go. He wound up going on the 15-day injured list.
He said he felt fine during his time on the injured list, and was able to return last Thursday in Toronto, where he threw five scoreless innings and allowed just three hits in the Rays' 11-0 win. It was his first start in 23 days. When he met with the media on Monday, he said he felt good after the start, and his body bounced back quickly ''other than not having pitched in 23 days, or whatever it was,'' he said.
He struggled right from the beginning on Tuesday night against the Astros, who clinched the AL West division title with Monday night's 4-0 win. The first two hitters of the game, Jose Altuve and Jeremy Pena, both singled, and Altuve scored on a double by Kyle Tucker.
Houston added three more runs in the third inning. McClanahan walked catcher Martin Maldanado, the Astros' No. 9 hitter, and then Altuve singled again. Pena followed with a three-run blast to left-center to make it 4-0.
McClanahan wasn't happy with his performance, and said it had nothing to do with his neck. He said he had no physical issues early.
"Obviously, I'm frustrated. It's the middle of September in a playoff push, and I need to be better than that,'' said McClanahan, who fell to 12-6 on the season. "I could have done a way better job tonight executing pitches, throwing quality strikes, limiting damage.''
The Rays, who had only five hits in Monday night's loss, managed just three hits on Tuesday night. Christian Bethancourt had a single in the fifth inning, Wander Franco had a double in the sixth and and a single in the ninth.
Franco also walked twice. Outside of his 2-for-2 night, the rest of the Rays lineup went 1-for-27. In the ninth inning, they got two walks after Franco's hit to load the bases, so Houston manager Dusty Baker summoned his closer, Ryan Pressley, to shut down the rally. He did exactly that, striking out Ji-Man Choi and and getting a lineout from Bethancourt to end the game.
The same thing happened Monday night. Harold Ramirez had three hits, but the rest of the lineup went 2-for-28. The Rays have coaxed 11 walks in the past two nights, and not a single one of them scored.
The last time the Rays were blanked on consecutive nights was Aug 11-12, 2017 against Cleveland. It's happened 11 times in club history, and the Rays went 736 days between instances now. It was also the first time they'd lost back-to-back home games since Aug. 2.
The dual shutouts might be rare for the Rays, but for the Astros, who have the top-ranked pitching staff in the American League, this happens often. It's the third time they twirled back-to-back shutouts this season. Astros starter Cristian Javier pitched five scoreless innings, allowing just one hit with four walks and six strikeouts.
The two teams meet again on Wednesday night at 6:40 p.m. ET.
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.