ST. PETERSBURG -- Shane McClanahan has been wanting to share his newfound passion for fishing with his teammates for a while, but the Major League schedule affords few opportunities for offshore adventures. Granted a rare off-day at home on Thursday, McClanahan got Junior Caminero, Ben Williamson, Ryan Vilade and Nick Martinez to board his boat and enjoy a day on the water.
By all accounts, the fishing expedition was a success and a good time. So was McClanahan’s trip to the mound on Friday night at Tropicana Field.
McClanahan pitched six scoreless innings, struck out five and didn’t issue a walk in the Rays’ 3-0 win over the Giants, their second shutout in the past three games and their 14th victory in their past 19 games. It was his second straight scoreless start, his first time completing six innings since July 17, 2023, and the clearest sign yet that the left-hander has rediscovered his two-time All-Star form.
“Once he got over the firsts of coming back and doing it on the road then doing it at home, I think it's been business as usual,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “He should be proud of himself, the way he's competed here as of late. … He looked [like] a closer version [of] himself.”
McClanahan had everything going in his sixth start of the season. After leaning heavily on his changeup in his last outing, his fastball averaged 95.3 mph and produced eight of his 14 swinging strikes on the night. His changeup, slider and curveball kept San Francisco’s road-weary lineup off-balance.
And he was impressively efficient, getting through six frames on only 73 pitches in his seventh career scoreless start of at least six innings.
“I'm proud we won,” McClanahan said. “Starting to slowly feel like more and more myself, and building those reps, building that confidence and very thankful for these guys.”
While McClanahan mostly cruised through his first quality start in nearly three years, it seemed fitting that during his only potential jam of the night, three of his shipmates turned a key double play to take him off the hook.
With runners on the corners and one out in the fifth inning, McClanahan received a visit from pitching coach Kyle Snyder. According to McClanahan, Snyder’s advice was simple: first-pitch slider, then a changeup. They wanted a double-play ball.
After a first-pitch slider in the dirt, McClanahan got Jerar Encarnacion to swing on a changeup over the plate, and he hit it softly to third base.
“That’s Kyle Snyder, man,” McClanahan said. “It’s wizardry.”
Caminero fielded the 80.4 mph grounder cleanly and quickly fired a high throw to Williamson at second base. Williamson reached up to snag it, then stomped his foot on the dirt and made an on-target throw to Vilade in one smooth motion. Vilade reeled in the ball for the second out.
“We have a special group of guys who like doing stuff together at the field, off the field and just building that camaraderie, having that trust on and off the field,” Williamson said. “Being able to make plays like that, it fires the boys up a little bit more than a trout or redfish.”
It was the highlight of what Cash called “probably our best defensive day of the season,” and perhaps an example of the Rays’ clubhouse camaraderie paying dividends on the field. Caminero said starting that inning-ending double play was even more rewarding than crushing his team-leading ninth home run in the fourth inning, a Statcast-projected 432-foot shot to left field.
“Because we helped Shane,” Caminero said. “For me, that's better.”
McClanahan, who usually reserves his emotions for when he knows his outing is over, pumped his left fist, shouted and pointed into the dugout as he marched off the mound.
One issue: He wasn’t done pitching yet.
The Rays have been careful with McClanahan’s workload, mindful of his long-term health and stamina after the two and a half years he lost to injuries. Coming out of Spring Training, they didn’t plan to have him pitch past the fifth inning during the first month of the season.
Well, Friday was May 1.
“We’re into the second month,” Cash said, smiling.
So McClanahan gathered himself and returned to the mound for the sixth. He erased a leadoff single by starting another double play himself then retired Matt Chapman to finish his outing -- for real, this time.
“The fact that Cashy gave me the opportunity to go back out for the sixth was huge,” McClanahan said. “Did I know he was going to do that? No, but I'm glad he did. It was cool.”
Cool, sure. But was his performance better as a pitcher or a fishing charter captain?
“Pitcher,” Caminero said, grinning. “Fishing is a hobby.”