MILWAUKEE -- After waiting 972 days between Major League starts, Shane McClanahan was back in every way Tuesday night.
On the mound, he was poised and in control. His four-pitch mix was on point. He was anxious and excited, sure, as you would expect him to be before his first start for the Rays since Aug. 2, 2023. But he showed no signs of nerves or jitters, finding comfort in a simple truth.
“That’s where I belong,” he said.
But McClanahan did not just return with elite stuff and renewed perspective after sitting out 2 1/2 years due to injuries. He brought back his intense competitiveness and almost impossibly high standards, too.
That side of McClanahan showed up after the Rays’ 6-2 loss to the Brewers at American Family Field. While Rays catcher Nick Fortes described McClanahan as “fantastic” and Brewers manager Pat Murphy called his performance “Skubal-like,” the two-time All-Star couldn’t hide his frustration.
“We lost, so I'm having a hard time with that. I can give you an excuse of it's been two and a half years, but I'm not going to do that. I want to win,” said McClanahan, who allowed three runs (two earned) on two hits and three walks while striking out four in 4 2/3 innings. “I'm here to win. I've got to execute better.”
McClanahan’s harsh self-assessment really only applies to his fifth and final inning, because he was otherwise brilliant. He retired 12 of the first 13 batters he faced, with a second-inning walk to Gary Sánchez as the lone exception, and carried a no-hitter into the fifth.
“He didn't make a mistake for four innings,” Murphy said.
His fastball touched 97.4 mph in the second inning and averaged 95.4 mph. His changeup and slider were nasty. He nearly completed five innings on 79 pitches, roughly the limits he’ll be facing for the first month or so of the season.
It was impressive stuff, even without the remarkable context surrounding McClanahan’s return.
“I was really happy and proud of him,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “I know we've talked about the long comeback, but I felt like he certainly looked like himself, really, the entire game.”
McClanahan endured a second Tommy John surgery that ended his 2023 season in August, then wiped out his entire ‘24 campaign. He was nearly back last spring, but a nerve issue in his left triceps ultimately sidelined him all year. In January, he mourned the passing of his father, whose initials -- JWM -- are now stitched onto his glove.
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 to be on the 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.”
He lived up to the anticipation in the early going, as he breezed through a clean, 12-pitch first inning punctuated by a strikeout of William Contreras. He cruised through the next three innings as Jonathan Aranda and Fortes supported him with a pair of solo homers, then finally found himself in trouble in the fifth.
McClanahan’s command wavered, and the Brewers loaded the bases on a pair of walks and a single. He chalked it up to fatigue. That’s to be expected, considering it’s been so long since he’s pitched deep into games, but it didn’t sit well with him.
“Unfortunately, it is [part of the process]. And I hate it. I hate it,” McClanahan said. “I want to go out there and go eight innings, nine innings, and I hate the fact that it might still not be there yet. … We're going to improve on it. I can guarantee you that.”
Brice Turang pulled a single to right field, driving in two runs, then got caught in a rundown between first and second. Center fielder Cedric Mullins alertly backed up the play and tagged Turang to end the inning and keep it tied, but the ball popped out of his glove. The Brewers challenged the call, and it was overturned as Mullins didn’t lose the ball in transition, but while still in the action of tagging Turang.
Turang was safe at second, the go-ahead run scored, Mullins was charged with an error, and McClanahan’s night was over.
As frustrated as he felt at the end of his outing, there was plenty to feel good about.
“He came out, executed, gave us an opportunity to win the ballgame. That type of stuff is going to roll over,” Cash said. “If that continues, we're going to be in a really good spot with Mac.”