Rays' Shane McClanahan maturing, increases shutout innings streak to 21.2

"I think I was guilty of, maybe in my first couple of starts, just throwing," he said. "Obviously, getting the feel back. Now, it is more of trusting (catchers Nick Fortes nd Hunter Feduccia) abnd game planning with (pitching coach Kyle Snyder). It's matchups and understanding what I do well versus what (the batter) does well."

Patient Rays' Shane McClanahan dominating again

McClanahan has helped fuel one of the MLB's top-five pitching staffs. The Rays' staff entered Wednesday's game against the host Blue Jays with a 3.48 earned-run average.

His arm strength appears to be back. During his previous two starts entering Tuesday, his four-seam fastball velocity averaged 96.8 mph. In 2023, he averaged 96.8 mph.

McClanahan may not have yet reached his '22 form when he struck out 10.5 batters per nine innings, but he left the defending AL champion Blue Jays scoreless in consecutive starts. He induced 11 whiffs Tuesday.

The Rays' bullpen couldn't hold the advantage as the Blue Jays rallied with five seventh-inning runs, forcing extra innings. The AL East-leading Rays (28-13) earned a 7-6 win in 10 innings.

Last Wednesday, McClanahan yielded two hits in 5.2 shutout innings to earn the win, improving to 24-8 all-time at Tropicana Field. The two-time All-Star's strikeout rate after that start reached 8.8.

McClanahan, a 2018 first-round draft pick by the Rays, said he is maturing as a pitcher.

"I think that's kind of been the evolution for me as a pitcher in terms of maybe I wanted to go strike out (a lot of batters) again," he said. "Obviously, I still want to get as many (strikeouts) as I can. Take the ball out of play and good things happen, but there's a lot more trust."