Rays Need Shane McClanahan To Stay Hot Against Red Sox

Shane McClanahan needs to keep up his hot streak to take down the Boston Red Sox.

Jul 8, 2026; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Shane McClanahan (18) throws a pitch against the New York Yankees in the first inning at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Tampa Bay Rays have not gotten off to the kind of start they were hoping for coming out of the All-Star break.

They had a difficult start to the second half, going on the road to Fenway Park to face off against the red-hot Boston Red Sox. The American League East rivals kicked things off with a doubleheader on July 17 and a single game on July 18, and things have not gone in favor of the Rays.

They got crushed in the first game of the doubleheader, losing 10-0. Game 2 was more competitive, but the outcome was the same: a 5-3 loss. On Saturday afternoon, things unraveled after a throwing error by Ryan Vilade, leading to a four-run outburst and a 7-6 loss.

With the Red Sox now riding a 12-game winning streak, Tampa Bay will be turning to Shane McClanahan to stop the bleeding and avoid a four-game sweep, which would extend their losing streak to five games.

Shane McClanahan looking to make franchise history against Red Sox

Jul 1, 2026; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Shane McClanahan (18) throws a pitch in the first inning against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter Aiken-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Luckily for the Rays, he is entering the contest on quite a hot streak. He is closing in on franchise history with how dominant he has been on the mound.

As shared by Running From The OPS on X, McClanahan is tied for the second most games in Tampa Bay franchise history with 6+ innings pitched, four or fewer hits allowed and 5+ strikeouts.

The only pitcher who has more such outings with the Rays is Drew Rasmussen. McClanahan moved into a tie with James Shields and Ryan Yarbrough after dominating the New York Yankees heading into the break.

Shane McClanahan was electric yesterday. He is now tied for 2nd in Rays history with the most starts with 6 or more IP, 4 or fewer hits allowed, 5 or more Ks, and no walks.

Drew Rasmussen--8
Ryan Yarbrough--7
James Shields--7
Shane McClanahan--7
David Price--6 pic.twitter.com/WSbKmhf8jp

— Running From The OPS (@OPS_BASEBALL) July 9, 2026

On July 8, in his last start, he threw 6.1 innings, allowed only four hits and struck out five batters. He fell just short of that being the game that tied Rasmussen in his start on July 1, when he threw six shutout innings against the Kansas City Royals, allowing only three hits and striking out four.

Can he do it again, this time against a team that is on fire in Boston? The Rays certainly hope so, as they need to get back in the win column and take advantage of the Yankees facing off against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

This season, McClanahan has made 17 starts and has a record of 8-5 with a 2.83 ERA in 86 innings. He has a single-season best ERA+ of 152, a remarkable achievement given the last time he pitched in the Major Leagues was August 2023 because of a multitude of injuries.