McClanahan First to 10 Wins, Rays Beat Rangers 7-3 to Take Series in Battle of Heavyweights
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Shane McClanahan cherishes his role as the ace of the Tampa Bay Rays. He's the best pitcher on the best team in baseball, and he's got a bulldog mentality where he wants to get every batter out.
Every. Single. Out.
So it was a bit of a surprise when he gave up three runs to the Texas Rangers in the span of just four batters in the top of the third as they cut the Rays' lead from 4-0 to 4-3 in a hurry.
And how did he answer that? By retiring the next 15 batters he faced and leaving after seven innings with a four-run lead. The best-in-baseball Rays wound up winning 7-3, taking two of three in the series with the Rangers, who have the second-best record in baseball.
McClanahan was unphased by the early adversity. It's further proof that as he matures into one of the best pitchers in the game, he flushes any struggles and moves on to the next batter. And one out suddenly turns into 15 in a row. He's now 10-1 on the season and is the first pitcher in the major leagues to reach double digits in wins.
"(Rays pitching coach Kyle) Snyder came up to me and he said, 'hey, you're going to give up some hits eventually sometimes,' '' McClanahan said. "It's one of those things where he's absolutely right. It's baseball, and you're not going to be perfect every time you take the ball. They are a really good hitting team, they've got a lot of guys having a hell of a year and they showed that in third inning and I didn't want to go out that way.
"They got me quick in the third there. It was up to me to fight back from that. I was just trying to spin the ball better (after the third) and not short-arm things, just pound the zone.''
This was just the second time in 14 starts that McClanahan had allowed more than two runs in a game. He said he saw some things between innings on video and adjusted from there. It all worked and he sailed through the seventh inning. He left tossing 96 pitches on the day.
"I felt good. I made some in-game adjustments after that third inning and I felt like I commanded the ball the way I wanted to the rest of the game.,'' he said. " I felt like I commanded all four of my pitches pretty well today.
McClanahan, who turned 26 in April, is the second-fastest Rays pitcher to 10 wins. David Price got his 10th win in 2010 in the Rays' 64th game. That happened on June 15 that year, so on the calendar, McClanahan was actually faster by a few days.
None of which really matters to him. As he often says, it's all about team wins for him. And the Rays are 12-2 in his starts.
"To be honest with you, I've said that for three years. It's one of those things where I'm just happy when this team wins games, that's ultimately my goal,'' McClanahan said. "I'm honored to be mentioned in the same associated with the likes of David Price, it's a pretty special honor. He's done some great things in his career, and I'm lucky to have my name associated with him.''
The Rays jumped all over long-time nemesis Martin Perez, scoring twice in the first inning, starting off with four straight hits. Randy Arozarena had an RBI single with the bases loaded, and Isaac Paredes, who drove in six runs in Friday's win, plated another with an RBI groundout.
They added two more in the second Manuel Margot walked and scored on a Taylor Walls double. It was just his second RBI since May 20 as part of a 4-for-52 slump. Walls then scored on a Harold Ramirez single to make it 4-0.
As good as McClanahan has been all year, you'd figure that would be enough, but the Rangers jumped all over him in the third. Robbie Grossman led off the inning with a home run, and then Leody Tavares walked. Marcus Semien had an RBI double to center, and Corey Seager followed with an RBI single to make it 4-3.
Just 16 pitches, and three runs.
But from there, McClanahan retired 15 straight batters and he picked up some insurance on the way when shortstop Wander Franco hit a three-run homer in the fourth inning. It was the eighth homer of the year for Franco, who's having an All-Star-quality season. He's hitting .299 on the year and has 32 RBIs and 41 runs scored.
This, though, was his first home run since May 9.
''I was looking for my pitch to hit, and he threw the pitch I wanted. I was able to catch it out front,'' Franco said through interpreter Manny Navarro. "I think the home runs just come on their own; I don't try to hit home runs. I think more about my average, my doubles and just try to find a way to get on base.''
Franco had a bird's eye view for McClanahan's stellar performance. They've come up through the Rays' system together the past five years, and they're a mutual admiration society.
"I've been watching that for a very long time,'' the 22-year-old Franco said. "It's really fun to watch him do it, and him have fun, too. He's going to be a superstar one day.
He may already be a star. Franco smiled when asked if he and McClanahan would take the same flight to the All-Star Game in Seattle in July.
"We don't know that. Only time will tell,'' he said with a broad grin. "We'll leave that in God's hands and wait. Everyone in here seems to deserve it, and we'll have to wait and see.''
Colin Poche pitched a perfect eighth inning for Tampa Bay, but closer Jason Adam ran into some trouble in the ninth. He loaded the bases with one out and the tying run at the plate, but he got Ezequiel Duran to ground into a double play to end the game.
Perez fell to 6-2 on the season. He lasted just 3 1/3 innings, giving up seven runs and 10 hits. It was his shortest outing the year and something of a surprise considering he was 2-0 against Tampa Bay a year ago with one seven-inning scoreless outing where he only allowed three hits.
The Rays, who went 5-1 against fellow American league division leaders Minnesota and Texas this week, are heading west after the game. They will play four games in Oakland first, and then three in San Diego over the weekend.
The Rangers start a homestand on Monday, with four against the Los Angeles Angels and three more over the weekend against the Toronto Blue Jays.
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