Shane McClanahan was sharp on Opening Day, pitching six shutout innings, while José Siri and Wander Franco each went yard, as the Tampa Bay Rays opened their silver anniversary season with a 4-0 win over the Tigers on Thursday.
Thursday marked the start of a celebration of the team’s first 25 years.
The Rays wore throwback Devil Rays jerseys and hosted the same opponent they faced in the first-ever regular season game at Tropicana Field on March 31, 1998.
Before taking the field, the team unfurled the most recent postseason pennant over the seats in left field.
Then, more than a decade after throwing his last pitch in a Tampa Bay uniform, James “Juego G” Shields was invited to return to the mound to “symbolically” retire from the franchise he helped transform from a perennial loser into a playoff contender.
Shields also donned a throwback jersey and threw out the ceremonial first pitch.
Shane McClanahan made his second Opening Day start in as many years, yet he appeared to almost be in mid-season form, turning in a six-inning scoreless outing on 87 pitches (58 strikes, 67% strike rate, 18% SwStr). The left-hander worked around a Javier Báez one-out single in the first, an Austin Meadows one-out double in the second, a walk and an infield single in the third, and a single in the fourth, striking out six along the way. McClanahan leaned primarily on his 96.7 mph heater (up 0.6 mph over his 2022 average), throwing it 56% of the time (49 total), while coaxing eight whiffs. Yet, it was his changeup that coaxed the most swings and misses as a total percentage of pitches thrown — five whiffs on 17 changeups. That’s neither shocking nor surprising.
Meanwhile, José Siri put the Rays on the board for the first time this season, launching a 110 mph missile 397 feet into the left-field seats in the bottom of the third.
Three innings later, Randy Arozarena extended the lead against Jason Foley — who entered the game in relief with a pair of runners on the bags — driving in the pinch-running Taylor Walls from second.
Moments later, Luke Raley came through in the clutch with a pinch-hit RBI base hit giving Tampa Bay a three-run lead.
Wander Franco, who sat out the last couple of Grapefruit League contests due to right quadriceps tightness, provided a little extra insurance, clubbing a solo homer in the eighth inning. The ball traveled an estimated 402 feet into the left-center field seats.
Any time you hit a ball like that you feel healthy.
— Wander Franco
While solid pitching and timely hitting were two facets of Thursday’s win, stellar defense — like when Manuel Margot made a diving catch in right field, saving at least one run in the seventh inning — also played an integral role.
That’s a game-changing play, but I’ve never really been in this building where (they) haven’t played elite defense. It’s one of their calling cards. They make good plays. They finish plays, which is key. We needed to get something to happen to get back into the game. That would have been a critical one.
— Tigers Manager A.J. Hinch
The New What Next
After an off day Friday, the three-game series will resume Saturday, with Zach Eflin making his debut for the Rays. He’ll pitch opposite Spencer Turnbull.
Zach Eflin threw 3.1 innings on March 20 while allowing four earned runs on seven hits against Atlanta. It clearly wasn’t an ideal outing from Eflin, and he has now allowed six earned runs across his last 7.1 innings of work during Spring Training. Yet, neither he nor manager Kevin Cash was concerned. In that outing, Eflin faced 16 batters and Cash noted improved durability on the bump. Overall, he put up a 4.04 ERA and a 3.56 FIP last season, with a 1.12 WHIP, and 4.33 K/BB in ’22.
Spencer Turnbull allowed three runs on six hits across three innings in a middle-of-March contest against the Phillies, as he makes his way back from Tommy John surgery. He struck out four. Turnbull allowed just three total hits across his first two Spring starts, yet he was much more hittable during that contest. The right-hander looked whiffy in Spring Training, but take that with a grain of salt…you know, because it’s Spring Training. In 2021, his last healthy season, Turnbull put up a 2.88 ERA and a 2.95 FIP, with a 0.98 WHIP, and a 3.67 K/BB. He relies primarily on a 94 mph cutter that has good rise but little cutting action, a whiffy 94 mph sinker with little arm-side run, and an 86 mph slider that has short glove-side cut, while also mixing in an 88 mph changeup with arm-side fade, and a 79 mph curveball. Key Matchups: Yandy Díaz (1-2, BB), Harold Ramírez (3-5, HR, 2 RBI)
You can read about the series in our preview, while the starting lineup is below..
Rays 4/1/23 Starting Lineup
- Díaz 1B
- B. Lowe 2B
- Arozarena LF
- Franco SS
- Raley DH
- Siri CF
- Walls 3B
- J. Lowe RF
- Mejía C