ST. PETERSBURG -- After allowing four runs and walking four batters over a season-low four innings at Yankee Stadium, Rays left-hander Shane McClanahan vowed to be better. The 26-year-old ace said he understood the expectations placed upon him by the team, fans and, perhaps above all, himself.

“Terrible,” McClanahan told reporters last Saturday after a 6-0 lead turned into a 9-8 loss, Tampa Bay’s first defeat of the year with him on the mound. “I have to right the ship.”

He did that Friday night and cruised through seven efficient innings in the Rays’ 1-0 win over the Brewers at Tropicana Field. Locked in a duel with Milwaukee starter Adrian Houser, the lefty allowed six hits and one walk and struck out seven as Tampa Bay improved to 33-13.

“He looked pretty locked in to me,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “I'm glad that he was very motivated to … get back on the mound and do his thing, and he did.”

Friday was the Rays’ MLB-leading eighth shutout of the season and their third behind McClanahan, who improved his ERA to 2.05, the fourth-lowest mark among qualified starters behind Sonny Gray, Alex Cobb and Gerrit Cole. It also improved Tampa Bay’s home record to 20-3, matching the best 23-game home start by an AL/NL club in the Modern Era alongside the 1922 New York Giants, ‘78 Red Sox and ‘79 Montreal Expos.

After back-to-back losses at Citi Field and a frustrating 4-6 road trip, McClanahan unsurprisingly played the role of stopper and ensured that Tampa Bay remained the only team in the Majors without a three-game losing streak this season.

The Rays scored the only run they needed in the eighth inning. Luke Raley was hit by a pitch, stole second, hustled to third on a subsequent throwing error by catcher William Contreras then dashed home when Francisco Mejía reached way out of the strike zone to send a sacrifice fly to left field.

“[McClanahan] bought us more than enough time to get a run. Their guy was very good, and sometimes you’ve just got to get up there and go toe to toe,” Cash said. “It seemed like he kind of fed off that a little bit and continued to get better and better as the game went on."

McClanahan had been thriving early this season despite a noticeable uptick in walks. He issued 24 free passes in 50 innings, with his walk rate jumping from 5.9 percent last year to 11.7 percent entering Friday’s outing. He walked a career-high-tying four batters in four of his first nine starts this season, including each of his past two trips to the mound.

Those issues disappeared on Friday. It was his longest start of the season, and he did it with his second-lowest pitch count (83, 60 for strikes) of the year. He worked just one inning longer than 15 pitches, and only two required more than 11 pitches.

What led to that efficiency? McClanahan cited his mechanics and mindset.

Acknowledging that he “felt a little off this entire year, trying to figure it out,” the lefty said he worked tirelessly with pitching coach Kyle Snyder over the past week to stay behind his pitches, spinning them rather than muscling them into the strike zone. That finally clicked into place while playing catch on Wednesday in New York.

“I'm like, 'There it is,’” McClanahan said, smiling. “Just tried to do my best to replicate that feeling out there.”

But there was a mental component to it, too.

“Trying to fill up the zone as opposed to trying to make quality pitches too quality,” McClanahan said. “Just be aggressive and stay aggressive.”

The Brewers were also determined to get to McClanahan early in counts, Milwaukee outfielder Tyrone Taylor said. Combine that with McClanahan’s improved strike-throwing and the Brewers’ lack of familiarity with his four-pitch mix, Cash noted, and you have a recipe for success.

McClanahan’s defense helped him out as well. Right fielder Josh Lowe fired a perfectly placed missile to third baseman Isaac Paredes, who tagged out former Ray Willy Adames for a key double play in the second inning.

Center fielder Jose Siri also made a handful of impressive plays, including a leaping grab that sent him into the outfield wall -- with his defensive positioning card in his right hand -- to take a hit away from Taylor in the fifth inning.

“First and foremost, I want to thank Jose Siri. What a day by that guy,” McClanahan said. “It was good. We did that as a team, I feel like, and we got the job done.”