CHICAGO — Facing left-hander Noah Schultz, one of the game’s top prospects in his Major League debut, manager Kevin Cash and the Rays had a simple approach.
Don’t help the kid beat you.
“I think for us, we know he’s talented, and hopefully he’s a little amped up being a younger pitcher and we’re not going to expand,” Cash said before the Rays’ 8-5 win over the White Sox at Rate Field on Tuesday night. “Early on here in [Triple-A] Charlotte, he’s pretty much eliminated the walks, it’s big stuff.
“We got our hands full. Hopefully, we’re not going to do any favors by expanding out of the zone.”
The Rays’ patience, coupled with a career day from right fielder Ryan Vilade, allowed them to jump on Schultz and win their fourth straight game.
Jonathan Aranda and Junior Caminero coaxed one-out walks in the first inning, putting early pressure on MLB Pipeline’s No. 44 prospect. Vilade doubled down the left-field line to score Aranda and advance Caminero to third, kickstarting what would be Vilade’s first career three-hit game.
The scrappy Rays continued to mount the pressure after Vilade’s big hit. Ben Williamson laid down a sacrifice bunt back to Schultz, who went home but threw it past catcher Edgar Quero, allowing Caminero and Vilade to score. Vilade connected on a one-out single in the third, then scored on a double from Williamson and collected his third hit – a single – in the seventh.
The Rays needed that offensive outburst after left-hander Shane McClanahan ran into trouble in the third. Chase Meidroth reached on a catcher’s interference and McClanahan walked Munetaka Murakami. The left-hander, making his third start after missing the past two seasons, hung a first-pitch slider that Everson Pereira deposited into the left-center-field seats.
It was the first home run the left-hander has surrendered this year. McClanahan allowed a walk after the home run, then retired eight of the last nine hitters he faced. The walks continued to be his bugaboo, as he issued four free passes for the second straight outing and has allowed 11 in 13 2/3 innings this season.
“The walks, it feels like when they’ve come, they’ve come in bunches, and that’s just not him,” Cash said. “Probably a byproduct of not being on the mound in the last two seasons. I’m confident; I have a feeling he’s going to start trending in the right direction as far as strike throwing, and everything else will start to follow soon.”