My Two Cents: Rays' Shane McClanahan Beats Pirates, Continues to Dominate
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — There's only one thing that matters for Tampa Bay left-hander Shane McClanahan when he takes the mound every five of six days. He wants to do his thing so there can be a postgame victory celebration in the Rays' super tight — and very loose — locker room.
Mission accomplished on Wednesday night.
Again.
McClanahan pitched six wonderful innings, allowing just one run and five hits, striking out nine as the Rays beat the hot Pittsburgh Pirates 8-1 at Tropicana Field. He's now 6-0 on the season with a nifty 2.03 earned run average, and the Rays have won all seven of his starts. He's yet to give up more than two runs in a game.
He is the pure definition of ''ACE.''
“Every time he goes out there, that's what we expect — and it's what we get,” said Rays outfielder Josh Lowe, who had a home run in the rout. “He's our ace for a reason.”
The Rays are the first team to 25 wins this season, and their 25-6 record is the fourth-best through 31 games since 1947. The 1984 Detroit Tigers started 26-5, and the 2016 Chicago Cubs, 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers and the 1958 New York Yankees all went 25-6 as all.
All four of those teams, by the way, won the World Series in those respective seasons.
McClanahan is all about winning, so this hot streak is right up his alley. Being counted on to shine every start ''is the ultimate compliment'' because being consistent is a top priority for him.
“You kind of want to know what to expect every single time,” McClanahan said. “I've said this for years: My only goal is to help his team win a lot of ballgames, and if that's what consistency means, then I'm OK with that. I was throwing strikes, kind of mixing everything, being a little unpredictable.”
His manager, Kevin Cash, was duly impressed as well.
“We know how talented he is. He's starting to find that level of consistency that the elite ones do,” Cash said. “We're fortunate that we've got a guy that we can pencil in every fifth day to do that.”
Look at how good McClanahan has been in his seven starts, starting on Opening Day:
- March 30, beat Detroit 4-0: McClanahan pitched six scoreless innings, allowing just four hits and striking out six. He had one walk, and threw 87 pitches.
- April 5, won at Washington 7-2: He pitched six innings, allowing two runs and five hits and striking out six. He had four walks, and threw 94 pitches.
- April 11, beat Boston 7-2: He pitched five innings, allowing one run and just two hits and striking out nine. He had four walks and threw 95 pitches.
- April 16, won at Toronto 8-1: He pitched six innings, allowing just one run and four hits with six strikeouts. He had two walks and threw 98 pitches.
- April 22, beat Chicago White Sox 4-3 in 10 innings: He pitched six innings, allowing two runs and just three hits with a season-high 10 strikeouts. He had one walk and threw 88 pitches. This was his only outing where he didn't get the decision. He left with a 3-2 lead, but reliever Jason Adam gave up a game-tying home run in the eighth inning. The Rays won in the 10th inning on a walk-off single by Randy Arozarena.
- April 27, won at Chicago White Sox 14-5: McClanahan pitched five innings, allowing two runs and five hits while striking out five. He had two walks and threw 73 pitches in the blowout and left with a 12-2 lead.
- May 3, beat Pittsburgh 8-1: He pitched six innings, allowing one run and five hits while striking out nine. He walked two and threw 93 pitches.
- TOTALS: He's pitched 40 innings, with just nine earned runs allowed. He's given up 28 hits, and has 51 strikeouts with 16 walks. He's 6-0 with a 2.03 ERA. The Rays are averaging 7.4 runs scored in his seven starts.
“I don't think I've ever seen him fail,” shortstop Wander Franco said through interpreter Manny Navarro. “He seems to always be on point, and he's definitely a superstar.”
It was a cool moment after McClanahan left the game, too. The Rays, struggling to find fresh arms for the back of their bullpen, traded for Chase Anderson earlier in the day, getting him from the Cincinnati Reds organization.
He pitched three scoreless innings, allowing just two hits on short rest and quick travel, picking up his first career save in his 200th major-league appearance.
The Rays have a new postgame celebration tradition this year, with a key player getting a tequila shot to toast the win. That went to Anderson, who started the day in Omaha, Neb. and ended it with his first save.
“We gave him the [game] ball and stuff like that, and he was the recipient tonight,” McClanahan said. “It was awesome to watch him do that. A fantastic story.
