McClanahan notches MLB-best 10th win to take series victory vs. Texas

ST. PETERSBURG -- Shane McClanahan repeatedly smacked his glove against his left hand and strutted off the mound, confidently nodding toward the Rays’ dugout at Tropicana Field on Sunday afternoon.

The left-hander had just put together a strong seven-inning effort to help Tampa Bay claim the rubber match against the Rangers, 7-3, in a series that featured the top two teams in the American League.

McClanahan was rolling, having retired the previous 15 batters he faced. But an ace is never satisfied.

“I wanted the eighth [inning],” he said.

McClanahan wouldn’t get his wish after throwing 96 pitches, but he would pick up his MLB-leading 10th victory of the season, linking him to another southpaw who called Tropicana Field home and was also considered one of the best starters of his time.

By earning his 10th win in the team’s 68th game, McClanahan became the second fastest to reach double-digit wins in club history. The only Rays pitcher to accomplish that feat in fewer games? David Price, who won his 10th game of the 2010 season in their 64th game.

“To be mentioned with the likes of David Price, it's a pretty special honor, in my opinion,” McClanahan said. “That guy has done tremendous things in his career, and I’m lucky to have my name associated with him.”

It wasn’t a perfect 10th win for McClanahan, who allowed three runs in the third inning after being staked to a 4-0 lead. It was a rare blemish under the dome, as he had permitted just five runs through six home starts entering the series finale. But following a chat with pitching coach Kyle Snyder and a quick mechanical fix regarding his arm action, McClanahan showed why he owns a 2.18 ERA, second best in the Majors, behind the Tigers' Eduardo Rodriguez (2.13).

“Snyder, he came up to me and he was like, ‘Hey, you're going to give up some hits eventually sometimes.’ It's one of those things where he's absolutely right,” McClanahan said. “It’s baseball; you're not going to be perfect every time you take the ball. … I didn’t want to go out like that.”

McClanahan came back to the mound for the fourth and was indeed perfect from there, silencing the Rangers’ top-scoring offense over the next four frames. He recorded five strikeouts on the day and, outside of that third inning, allowed just two hits and one walk.

McClanahan's changeup, which has baffled right-handed hitters all year long, produced nine of his 20 swings-and-misses. He now sits with a 33.9% whiff rate, which trails only the Braves’ Spencer Strider (39.4%) for the best in the game among qualified starters.

“[McClanahan] really competed well today and made some big pitches,” manager Kevin Cash said. “The glitch in the third inning, they just got to him kind of quick, but he's just showing so much poise on the mound that it doesn't faze him, doesn't rattle him. He gets through the inning and then he just kicks it to another level.

“I think just watching him not get overly frustrated and be able to flush a bad inning … that's a sign of a really good pitcher."

The win was the 32nd of McClanahan’s career, and his team has provided him with at least three runs of support in each of those triumphs. The Rays topped that number early.

They attacked Rangers starter Martín Pérez for four consecutive hits to open the bottom of the first and followed that two-run inning with two more in the second.

“We've seen Martín [Pérez] lock it in once he gets in a rhythm. Not a guy that you want to get comfortable on the mound,” Cash said. “I felt like we did a really good job right out of the gate.”

But the biggest hit of the afternoon came off the bat of star shortstop Wander Franco, who drilled a flat changeup from Pérez for a three-run homer in the fourth, giving the Rays a four-run advantage yet again. It was Franco’s first dinger since May 9, and it accounted for his first RBIs in 10 games.

It ultimately provided the winning margin in yet another victorious series at home for the Rays, one against a possible future postseason opponent.

“We played really well,” Franco said. “We know we're playing a team that's also very good, and we feel very happy that we were able to take [the series] against them."