Gameday Preview: Shane McClanahan Back on Mound for Rays in Tuesday Game With Tigers
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rays look to bounce back on Tuesday night in the second game of their series with the Detroit Tigers, and they've got the best pitcher possible available to get the job done.
Shane McClanahan, the Rays' Opening Day starter who's leading all of baseball in strikeouts, takes the mound for Tampa Bay in the 6:40 p.m. ET game at Tropicana Field. He's coming off his best outing of the year, having thrown seven scoreless innings and allowing just three hits last Wednesday against the Los Angeles Angels.
The Tigers have won four games in a row, but are huge underdogs on Tuesday night because of McClanahan's presence. He has 58 strikeouts in his first seven starts, the second-most in franchise history. Only Tyler Glasnow (64) in 2021 was better.
McClanahan averaged 5.6 strikeouts per game in 25 starts last year, but that number has jumped to 8.3 this year. He's been much more effective with every pitch this season, and he's ''been really nasty every time out,'' Rays catcher Mike Zunino said.
McClanahan has made a nice jump with some simple fine-tuning to his pitches. He throws a fastball in the high-90s, but also has an effective slider, curveball and changeup, and he'll throw any of those four pitches any time.
"I went into this season knowing I had a lot to work on, and we made some adjustments and it's been working,'' McClanahan. "It was nothing major, but it's been working.''
Here's how to watch Tuesday night's game, with gametime and TV information, the starting lineups, bios and, of course, our great daily dose of newsy nuggets.
How to watch Tigers at Rays
- Who: Detroit Tigers (13-23) at Tampa Bay Rays (21-15)
- When: 6:40 p.m. ET, Tuesday, May 17
- Where: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Fla.
- TV: Bally Sports Sun
- Stream: Fubo.tv CLICK HERE
- Announcers: Dewayne Staats (play-by-play), Brian Anderson (color commentary) and Tricia Whitaker (reporter).
- Radio: WDAE 95.3 FM; SiriusXM Channel 179
- Announcers: Andy Freed and Dave Wills.
- Latest line: Tampa Bay is favored at minus-300 on the money line according to the SISportsbook.com website opening line as of Tuesday afternoon. It's the largest line of the season, meaning you would need to bet $300 to win $100. The Tigers are plus-240. The over/under is 6.5.
Tigers-Rays history
- Tigers vs. Rays all-time series history: This has been a very even series through the years, with the Tigers holding an 83-80 edge since that very first game in 1998. The Rays do hold the edge at Tropicana Field, with a 43-40 record. Detroit won the season series 4-3 last year, splitting the four games in St. Petersburg, and won the first game this year on Monday night. The two teams play four games in Detroit from Aug. 4 through Aug. 7.
Tigers-Rays most recent games
- Tigers 3, Rays 2: The Tigers got a ninth-inning home run from Harold Castro, his first of the year, to beat the Rays 3-2 on Monday night. Detroit took a two-run lead early on a Jonathan Schoop homer, but Brett Phillips hit a solo home run for Tampa Bay in the sixth and then doubled and scored in the eighth to tie the game. Castro's homer came against closer Andrew Kittredge, who has blown three saves in the past nine days. CLICK HERE
Projected starting pitchers
- Tigers right-hander Beau Brieske: Beau Brieske is 0-2 with a 3.68 earned run average so far for the Tigers. The 24-year-old Chandler, Ariz. native has been touched for three runs in three of his four starts, and he's struggled a bit with his control, walking 10 batters in 21 innings. The rookie last pitched on Thursday against Oakland, and threw a season-high 93 pitches in six innings of work. Brieske, a fast-riser through the Tigers' organization, was a 27th-round pick in the 2019 MLB Draft.
- Rays left-hander Shane McClanahan: Shane McClanahan has been sensational through seven starts with the Rays. He's 2-2 with a 2.52 ERA, but is coming off his best outing, where he threw seven scoreless innings against the Los Angeles Angels last Wednesday, allowing just three hits. He has 58 strikeouts in 39 1/3 innings, which is tied for the major-league lead along with Dylan Cease of the Chicago White Sox.
Projected lineups
- Tigers lineup: Robbie Grossman RF, Willi Castro LF, Javier Baez SS, Miguel Cabrera DH, Jeimer Candelario 3B, Jonathan Schoop 2B, Eric Haase C, Spencer Torkelson 1B, Daz Cameron CF, Beau Brieske P.
- Rays lineup: Yandy Diaz 3B, Wander Franco SS, Harold Ramirez DH, Ji-Man Choi 1B, Randy Arozarena LF, Kevin Kiermaier CF, Vidal Brujan 2B, Mike Zunino C, Brett Phillips RF, Shane McClanahan P.
Newsy nuggets
- 1. Brandon Lowe update: The injury news is not good on Tampa Bay second baseman Brandon Lowe. He was put on the injured list on Monday, but more details came out Tuesday, and it looks like he's going to close to a month with a lower back injury. For the complete story. CLICK HERE
- 2. Quite bats for Rays: The Rays have been held to three runs or fewer six times in the last eight games, and their 19 runs in an eight-game stretch is their lowest total in more than a year. They scored only 17 in a stretch from April 25, 2021 to May 2. The Rays are 6-14 when they score three runs or less and are 15-1 when they score four runs or more.
- 3. The defense rests: The Rays have made only five errors in the month of May, second-fewest in all of baseball. (San Diego is first, with just three). The improved defense has helped keep runs off the board. Tampa Bay gave up 19 unearned runs in April, worst in the majors, but have only allowed three so far in May through 15 games.
- 4. Another step for Miguel Cabrera: Detroit designated hitter Miguel Cabrera had a single on Monday night, giving him 3,021 career hits. He was the 33rd player to join the 3,000-hit club in April. His hit Monday night moved him into 28th place all-time, snapping a tie with Rafael Palmeiro. For the complete list of the 3,000-hit club and where active players Cabrera and Albert Pujols stand, CLICK HERE
Shane McClanahan
