ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – When Shane McClanahan took the mound in Port Charlotte against the Phillies on March 3, attention was naturally focused on the 28-year-old lefthander making his Grapefruit League debut. He threw 23 pitches (16 strikes) with a four-seamer that topped out at 96.7 mph during a pair of shutout innings.
“I forgot that’s how you’re supposed to feel on the mound,” he joked with reporters following the outing. “I forgot what feeling good feels like.”
It will be a good feeling for Rays fans when they see McClanahan take the mound Tuesday evening in Milwaukee (Rays.tv/7:30 ET) for the first time in a regular-season game since August 2, 2023, at Yankee Stadium.
The two-time all-star continued to perform nicely through the spring, which he wrapped up March 20 with five scoreless innings against the Red Sox, who went with what was their starting lineup. McClanahan finished the spring 3-0 with a 2.08 ERA.
Far more important than McClanahan’s numbers was the fact there were no setbacks like last year when, a week before he was scheduled to start Opening Day at Steinbrenner Field against the Rockies, a nerve issue cut short his final spring training appearance. As it turned out, the injury also cut down his 2025 season before it began. It was the second straight season McClanahan was sidelined after having sat out 2024 while recovering from Tommy John surgery.
“It meant everything,” the former USF star told Rays.tv reporter Ryan Bass following his final spring outing. “Pretty proud of the spring.”
What was he most proud of?
“Getting to work again and getting the body acclimated to the stresses,” he said. “I feel like I am, gosh, far away from where I want to be and where I am going to be. I think that’s just product not doing it.”
McClanahan, whose father, James, passed away in January, has a career mark of 33-16, a 3.02 ERA, and 1.10 WHIP in 74 career starts.
Hit parade
A 3-2 win over the Brewers on Monday evening was the type of game Rays fans are more accustomed to. The Rays emerged from opening weekend with an MLB-best .339 average after banging out 41 hits in losing two of three at St. Louis.
They had seven hits Monday, none more timely than Nick Fortes’ double in the ninth to score Jonny DeLuca with the go-ahead run. DuLuca homered in the seventh to tie the game, a drive he sent 438 feet.
Yandy Diaz is 11-for-20 (.550) through four games and lined a leadoff homer over the left field fence off Milwaukee’s Kyle Harirson. It was his 22nd career leadoff tater and his 100th as a member of the Rays. Diaz hit one with Cleveland before he was acquired ahead of the 2019 season.
Jonathan Aranda (6-for-16, .375) and Fortes (5-for-12, .417) are also off to nice starts for the Rays, who enter Tuesday’s action hitting .312 and the only team in the majors with an average of at least .300.
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