St. Petersburg, FL – Shane McClanahan picked up his MLB leading 10th win as the Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Texas Rangers 7-3 in the rubber game of their three game weekend series.
McClanahan (10-1, 2.18 ERA) worked seven innings allowing three runs on four hits while striking out five and walking just one. He made 96 pitches with 68 for strikes. The three runs allowed by McClanahan were the most allowed at Tropicana Field since September 25, 2022 versus the Toronto Blue Jays (4 runs).
Texas scored all three of their runs in the top of the third inning. McClanahan responded to the Rangers assault by retiring the last 15 batters he faced. “Watching him not get overly frustrated, be able to flush a bad inning, flush a pitch he didn’t like, [a pitch] he doesn’t execute, that’s a sign of a really good pitcher.” Kevin Cash said. “The best pitchers, release the ball and they are onto the next pitch.”
McClanahan credits a quick word from pitching coach Kyle Snyder for getting him focused. “Snyder said, ‘you’re going to give up some hits sometimes’, it’s one of those things sometimes and he’s absolutely right. It’s baseball and your not going to be perfect every time you take the ball.
With the win, Tampa Bay improves to 48-20 on the season. They become the sixth team since 1901 to win at least 31 of its first 38 home games (excluding ties) and the first since the 1998 New York Yankees (32-6).
Martin Perez (6-2, 4.67 ERA) takes the loss for the Rangers who fall to 41-23. With the loss the Rangers suffer their first series loss since dropping a series to the Atlanta Braves from May 15 through 17th. It marks their first series loss on the road since dropping a series to the Cincinnati Reds from April 24 through 26.
Perez saw his five game winning streak come to an end lasting just 3.1-innings allowing seven earned runs on 10 hits while striking out two and walking three.
Tampa Bay scored a pair of runs in the first inning on a Randy Arozarena RBI single and an Isaac Paredes fielders choice. They tacked on a pair of runs in the second on a Taylor Walls RBI double and a Harold Ramirez RBI single.
After Texas had cut the lead to 4-3 in the third inning, Wander Franco pushed the lead back to four by belting a three run homer in the fourth. It was Franco’s eighth homer of the year and first since May 9th in Baltimore against the Orioles. It was just his second against a left-handed pitcher this season.
Colin Poche worked a 1-2-3 eighth inning but Texas made life difficult for Kevin Cash and the 23,069 in attendance by loading the bases and bringing the tying run to the plate. Adam bent but didn’t buckle as he got a groundball double play off the bat of Ezequiel Duran to end the game.
Roster Move:
Prior to the game the Rays continue to shuffle their bullpen. Jose Lopez, who made his MLB debut Saturday, was optioned to Triple-A Durham. To fill the spot on the roster the Rays recalled right-handed reliever Ryan Thompson from Durham.
Up Next For Rays:
After the game, Tampa Bay heads out to Oakland to take on the Athletics in a four game series beginning Monday night. After the four games in Oakland, the Rays head to San Diego to take on the Padres for three games.