MILWAUKEE -- Before Shane McClanahan scaled the mound Tuesday night for his first Major League start in 972 days, pitching coach Kyle Snyder offered a simple piece of advice.
“I just told him to have fun,” Snyder said.
McClanahan overcame so much just to make his long-awaited return to the mound. The two-time All-Star endured a second Tommy John surgery that ended his 2023 season after an Aug. 2 outing against the Yankees, then wiped out his entire ‘24 campaign. He was on the verge of returning last spring, but a nerve issue in his left triceps kept him from pitching all year. In January, he mourned the passing of his father.
It was a career’s worth of adversity, all within a three-year span. But it changed the left-hander’s perspective, making him more grateful than ever for the chance to do what he did in the Rays' 6-2 loss to the Brewers at American Family Field: pitch in a Major League game.
“I think one thing that I've really been proud of is I'm allowing myself to enjoy it,” he said Monday afternoon. “I'm allowing myself to feel a little more joyous and kind of savor each moment that's out there and just allow myself to be a kid again, so I'm pretty proud of that.”
For four innings of his season debut, McClanahan was in complete command. He retired 12 of the first 13 batters he faced, with a second-inning walk to Gary Sánchez the lone exception, and carried a no-hitter into the fifth. The Brewers eventually got to him with two walks, a couple of singles and a bizarre play at second base that ended his outing after 4 2/3 innings and 79 pitches.
In the end, McClanahan gave up three runs (two earned) on two hits and three walks while striking out four. His fastball topped out at 97.4 mph and averaged 95.4 mph, down from where it sat at an average of 96.8 mph a few years ago, but still more than enough to be effective in concert with the rest of his four-pitch arsenal.
In the weeks leading up to his season debut, McClanahan retained a resolute focus on the moment in front of him. He didn’t want to get too far ahead of himself. But he admitted Monday afternoon that this particular moment had been on his mind since the last time he walked off a big league mound.
“Throwing a baseball is what he loves to do. I know he doesn't take it for granted, this job that he has, and just how special the opportunity is for all of us,” starter Drew Rasmussen said. “To get to see him have the opportunity to go out and compete again is something that we've been waiting on for a long, long time.”
The day before his start, McClanahan said he expected to feel more excitement than anxiousness. If there were any nerves, they didn’t show as he breezed through a clean, 12-pitch first inning punctuated by a strikeout of William Contreras. He cruised through the next three innings, then finally found himself in a jam in the fifth.
With two runners on, two outs and his pitch count on the rise, McClanahan threw a first-pitch strike to No. 9-hitting Joey Ortiz, but wound up walking him. Snyder paid a visit to the mound, but McClanahan -- who will likely be limited to five innings and/or 75 pitches during the first month of the season -- remained in the game with the bases loaded and Brice Turang due to hit.
Turang pulled a single to right field, driving in two runs, then got caught in a rundown between first and second. He was seemingly tagged near second base by center fielder Cedric Mullins, who was backing up the play, as the ball flew out of his glove. The initial ruling was that Turang was out due to the ball coming out on the transfer -- and McClanahan had completed the fifth inning.
But the Brewers challenged the call, and it was overturned after a replay review. Turang was safe at second, three runs scored, Mullins was charged with an error, and McClanahan returned to the mound, only for manager Kevin Cash to step out of the dugout and take him out of the game.