The Rays took the first game of this series against the White Sox, with Shane McClanahan picking up his first win in well over a year while his teammates gathered twelve hits and six walks. Every player was on base at least once.
This game received national attention because of the White Sox starter: Noah Schultz, a 6’10” top pitching prospect. Although I can’t point to specific games, I do have the deep belief that the Rays have struggled: a. against lefties; b. against pitchers making their major leagues debuts; and c. especially against lefties making major league debuts.
On the other hand, sometimes a pitcher making his debut can have some nerves, get over amped, and generally fall apart, at least in the first inning.
Then on the other side, Shane McClanahan is still a work in progress. No shade on him. You can’t be gone from the game for a year and a half and return with your best stuff and command. So far this year, McClanahan clearly doesn’t have the fastball velocity he did pre-injury (in baseball, sitting at 98mph vs sitting at 94mph are two entirely different pitchers), his control is shaky, and while he shows flashes of great it’s been uneven.
So tonight we had something great — a game whose outcome seemed completely impossible to predict.
The first inning gave us some idea that this might go well for the Rays.
Schultz got Yandy Diaz to fly out, things went south for him quickly thereafter. He walked both Aranda and Caminero, and not as in “pitching around the best hitters” but as in “I have no idea where this pitches are going.” Ryan Vilade doubled home Aranda, and then Ben Williamson (on his own or with prompting from the dugout?) laid down a very smart bunt that died between the plate and the mound. Smart because Williamson did a great job placing it, but also because you are forcing a rattled newbie pitcher to field a ball. Schultz hurried a throw to the plate even though Junior was already at the plate, and he overthrew which then allowed Vilade to score as well. Rays up, 3-0.
Shane McClanahan looked a little shaky in the Chicago half of the first, also walking two batters. But after a visit from Kyle Snyder, he got a quick two outs to retire the side.
The Rays added a fourth run in the in third inning, as Ben Williamson doubled to drive in Ryan Vilade. But in the bottom of that inning, McClanahan unraveled. Meidroth reached on catcher’s interference, when someone on the Chicago bench noticed something about Fortes’ stance and complained. After a walk, Everson Periera homered to put the White Sox within a run, 4-3. McClanahan walked the next batter, who then stole second. All seemed to be well as Tanner Murray hit a sharp grounder right to Junior for what should have been a routine out, but Junior’s rushed throw pulled Aranda off first base, so the runner was safe. Fortunately Junior managed not to botch the next play, that also went right to him. At the end of three innings, McClanahan had thrown 60 pitches and given up four walks.
But you know what, McClanahan came back to pitch efficient fourth and fifth innings. He left on the winning side of the game, and had ten whiffs (albeit just four strikeouts along with his four walks). With the fastball not as fast (although he did hit 97 on a few pitches) he is relying more on secondary pitches with some success.
The Rays got the lead back to three in the sixth inning, playing the smallest of small ball.
Williamson walked, got to third on two ground ball outs. He was then able to score when Fortes did….this:
Two out singles by Walls and Diaz drove in Fortes to make the score 6-3.
The Rays piled on more in the seventh inning. Vilade and Williamson teamed up for a single and run-scoring double, followed by another run-scoring double from Johnny DeLuca.
Would it even be a Rays win without some ninth inning drama? Kevin Cash brought in Yoendrys Gomez to pitch the eighth, and he got through the inning without damage. In the ninth inning, though, he gave up a two run home run to make the score 8-5, and then gave up a single to the next batter. That forced Cash to do what he did not want to do: warm up and then bring in Bryan Baker to get the last out.
Despite the catcher interference call and Junior’s throwing error, the defense was sharp. Here’s a nice catch by DeLuca, playing centerfield tonight:
Some concluding thoughts:
- I heard a few folks wondering about hitting Ryan Vilade in the clean up spot. Well, he was 3 for 5 today.
- Ben freaking Williamson. Three RBI today, and some sharp fielding.
- I have been a Rays fan for 20 years, and this is the first year they have been a bunting team. It’s remarkable how they’ve gone from almost never bunting to laying down several bunts a game – plain old sac bunts, bunting for hits, bunting for runs. “Don’t flail away trying to hit dingers, bunt!”
- Shane McClanahan postgame interview. He’s nearly crying. I’m crying. He’s talking about struggling, about losing his dad, saying he loves his mom, but ultimately feeling satisfaction with getting through five innings and helping the team win.
