'I love pitching here': Vintage McClanahan earns 1st win at Trop since '23

ST. PETERSBURG -- Shane McClanahan marched off the mound, pumped both fists and shouted before looking up and pointing both index fingers to the sky. For all the frustration he’s felt and all the patience he’s been preached, he walked into the dugout on Saturday afternoon with a sense of satisfaction.

He did his job.

McClanahan pitched five scoreless innings, struck out seven and earned the win in the Rays’ 6-1 victory over the Twins at Tropicana Field. As Tampa Bay secured a series victory over Minnesota, McClanahan recorded his first win at the Trop since June 11, 2023 -- 1,049 days ago.

“I love pitching here, man. I love pitching for this community, this team,” McClanahan said afterward. “And to be able to have a good one for them after I felt like I kind of failed them that first outing here, it means a ton to me.”

It meant a ton for the Rays, too, as they improved to 15-11 on the season and 10-1 against American League opponents. They figured better results were coming after his performance in Pittsburgh last Sunday, even though he took the loss after giving up four runs on eight hits.

His velocity was up. His strike-throwing was better. He looked more like himself. If he stuck with what worked that day, they figured, better results would come soon.

They came Saturday afternoon.

Overall, McClanahan permitted only three hits and a pair of walks while striking out a season-high seven batters in five innings. He racked up 15 swinging strikes, including six each on his changeup and slider and three on his fastball. He showed the ability to reach back for more zip on his fastball, matching his hardest pitch of the season with a 97.7 mph heater to Ryan Jeffers in the first, but he did most of his best work with his offspeed stuff.

Of the 86 pitches McClanahan threw, only 18 were fastballs. But after watching Drew Rasmussen roll out his changeup more often against the Twins on Friday night, McClanahan leaned more heavily on his changeup (which he used 34 times) and slider (25) to keep Minnesota’s lineup off-balance.

It was a good reminder of McClanahan’s evolution from a hard-throwing prospect into a complete, four-pitch starter before injuries sidelined him the past two years.

“He got his strikeouts today,” manager Kevin Cash said. “Encouraged by that. That's who he is. When he's right, he's going to get a lot of swing-and-miss, because he's got four quality options to go to.”

It wasn’t always easy. He needed 11 pitches to strike out Byron Buxton in the third, then he walked Austin Martin on a full-count slider. Admittedly still dwelling on that, McClanahan then walked Josh Bell on five pitches before throwing three straight balls to Jeffers.

A visit from pitching coach Kyle Snyder helped get his mind right, and he responded by retiring Jeffers on a groundout to shortstop Ben Williamson.

“I kind of told myself, it's like, 'All right, you've got to go, buddy,’” McClanahan said. “It's time to lock in. You can't change the last two guys, and let's get these guys out of the inning and trust the offense.”

McClanahan bounced back with a five-pitch fourth and stranded a pair of runners in the fifth, prompting his emotional walk off the mound. The fiery version of McClanahan -- the intense competitor that right fielder Jake Fraley called a “psycho” -- quickly gave way to the friendly teammate, as he hugged seemingly everyone in the dugout after his outing was over.

“He's a beaut, man,” Fraley said, smiling. “He's a psycho, and I love it. And we all love it. … Just to have that kind of personality with a starting pitcher is awesome, because it's just a guy that goes out there and loves to compete, and you want to get behind a guy like that.”

In response, McClanahan added, “Probably not the first time I've been called a psycho in terms of who I am on the mound, but it's like I'm very quick to get out of that mode and snap out of it and be who I am.”

The Rays lineup eventually broke out to score four runs against the Twins bullpen, but they just needed one big hit to put McClanahan in line for a long-awaited win. They got it from Fraley in the fourth inning.

Back in the lineup after leaving Tuesday’s game due to tightness in his lower right leg resulting from a ball he fouled off his shin, Fraley waited on an 0-1 changeup from Twins starter Bailey Ober and ripped it out to right-center field for a two-run homer, the first of his career at Tropicana Field.

“Definitely feels good to jog around the bases, not sprint,” Fraley said.