ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The Rays had to feel very good about their chances Sunday afternoon when Manuel Margot crossed the plate with their third run. It was only the second inning and the Texas lineup is the most productive in MLB, even ahead of Tampa Bay’s, yet Shane McClanahan’s career mark when his teammates supply him with three-plus runs of support was 31-4.
Make it 32-4.
The Rays (48-20) head to the West Coast on a high note following a 7-3 win and taking two of three from the Rangers (41-23) at Tropicana Field in a weekend matchup of the two best teams in the majors.
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The Rays’ lead swelled to 4-0 in the second before the Rangers made it a one-run game by scoring three times in the third. McClanahan, though, retired the final 15 batters he faced in going seven innings to improve his season’s mark to 10-1. He is MLB’s first 10-game winner.
“Another really strong performance,” said manager Kevin Cash, of McClanahan’s effort, in which allowed four hits, three runs and fanned five. “They have a bunch of good hitters and (McClanahan) really competed well and made some big pitches.”
McClanahan improved to 5-0 with an ERA of 1.67 at home this season. The Rays are 7-0 when he takes the mound at the Trop.
“I felt like I commanded all four of my pitches pretty well today,” he said. “They’re a really good hitting team, and they have a lot of guys that are having a hell of a year so far. They showed that in the third inning. I didn’t want to go out like that, so I had to keep at it.”
A three-run homer off the bat of Wander Franco in the fourth inning restored the four-run lead and completed the scoring on the afternoon.
The Rays, who improved to 31-7 at home, head west for the first time this season for a seven-game trip. They open a four-game series at Oakland on Monday night and head south to San Diego for a three-game weekend series beginning Friday.
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The Rays swept the A’s, who have the worst record in the majors, at the Trop in April, outscoring them 31-5 and winning each of the final two games of the series 11-0.
The Rays will meet the Padres for the first time since 2019, when they took two of three in San Diego. The only other time the Rays played in San Diego was 2004, the first year of Petco Park.
Following a day off upon returning to St. Pete, the Rays begin a six-game homestand on June 20. The Orioles will be at the Trop for two games, followed by four against Kansas City.
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