It looks like Shane McClanahan has rediscovered the mojo that made him a two-time All-Star before a pair of major arm surgeries sidelined the southpaw for two and a half seasons.
The Tampa Bay Rays left-handed pitcher spun 5 2/3 innings of shutout ball Wednesday during a 3-0 win over the Toronto Blue Jays at Tropicana Field.
With that performance, the 29-year-old McClanahan has strung together three straight scoreless starts for the first time in his career. He’s scattered 16 strikeouts in 16 2/3 innings along the way and, according to StatMuse, is the only pitcher with 15 innings pitched and zero earned runs in that span.
His changeup and curveball were working against the Blue Jays on Wednesday, and the Rays’ bullpen picked up where he left off to ensure that their streak of games allowing three or fewer runs increased to a franchise record 13. That’s tied for the second longest in the wild card era, per MLB.com. Tampa needs five more games of that kind to match the 18 such games the San Francisco Giants stacked during the 2010 campaign. That season, the Giants won the first of the three World Series titles that made up their 2010s dynasty.
This year’s Rays have secured an MLB-best five sweeps this season. They’ve won six consecutive games and 12 of their last 13. They’re 22-7 since they started the year 2-5.
It’s early May, and Tampa is flirting with first place in the AL East. Following their latest win over the Blue Jays (16-21), the Rays (24-12) drew within one game of the division-leading New York Yankees.
McClanahan is part of a Rays pitching staff that came into Wednesday with the fifth-best ERA (3.65) in the majors this season. He’s part of a starting rotation that also features righties Nick Martinez and Drew Rasmussen, who are sparkling with ERAs of 1.71 and 2.95, respectively.
After battling back from Tommy John surgery and then an operation that addressed a nerve issue in his left triceps, McClanahan has returned to form and turned in a type of stretch he didn’t even deliver pre-injuries.
Longtime Rays manager Kevin Cash removed McClanahan in the sixth inning Wednesday. By then, Tampa had scored two of its three runs in the victory, thanks to a fourth inning that showcased an RBI double from Jonny DeLuca and an RBI single from fellow outfielder Chandler Simpson.
Cash’s Rays are hoping to reach the playoffs for the first time in three seasons. This spring surge is slingshotting them into great position as the summer nears.
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