On a day when the Rays celebrated the life of Dave Wills, Tampa Bay earned its second consecutive walk-off victory behind a fantastic start by Shane McClanahan, and three timely hits by Randy Arozarena. The Rays defeated the White Sox, 4-3, and in so doing, they are now 12-0 at home this season — tied with the 1911 Tigers for the third-longest home win streak to start a season since 1900.
They end the day 15 games above .500 on the season.
Before the start of the contest, the Rays paid tribute to Dave Wills, whose wife and daughter were in attendance. There were many points in the game — and frankly every game thus far — where I couldn’t help but hear Wills’ voice in my head. I’m sure I’m not the only one.
For example, in the tenth inning, after Isaac Paredes couldn’t move pinch runner Vidal Bruján up to third with less than two outs, I clearly heard Dave chiding the team which, in the past, had lost more than a few extra-inning contests for the same reason. But, just a couple of minutes later, I also heard Dave’s iconic “Rays Win! Rays Win! Rays Win!” call after Arozarena walked it off on an RBI single. Did the video tribute bring a tear to my eye? Pfft…without a shred of embarrassment, it brought on the waterworks.
Shane McClanahan brought his best to the marquee matchup between him and Dylan Cease, striking out 10 and recording a club-record 32 swinging strikes while allowing two runs over six innings. The left-hander threw 66 of 80 pitches for strikes (83% strike rate), and racked up a career-high 32 swings and misses (40% SwStr). Pedro Martínez was the last pitcher to have as many whiffs as McClanahan. Martínez racked up 37 swings and misses in 2000 in a losing effort against the Devil Rays.
It’s always a little more fun to go out there and compete against the best.
— Shane McClanahan
Meanwhile, the Rays’ offense was able to see a lot of pitches from Dylan Cease, who was chased after just four innings due to a pitch count that neared 100. While Tampa Bay (cough, Arozarena) only put up three runs against Cease, every hitter saw at least four pitches.
Arozarena extended the team’s record-setting home run streak to 21 games with a two-run shot in the first inning. Then, in the fifth, RAAAAAAAANDY (with eight A’s) slapped an RBI single to put Tampa Bay ahead, 3-2.
The lead wouldn’t hold, though. Reliever Jason Adam gave up a game-tying home run to pinch-hitter Gavin Sheets in the eighth. In all fairness, it was a fluky homer on a pitch up around the letters. Credit to Sheets for being able to put the ball in play, much less send it out of the field of play.
After Pete Fairbanks put his 28th consecutive zero on the board with a scoreless ninth, Garrett Cleavinger got the call with a runner on second to start the tenth. The White Sox could muster nothing versus the left-hander though, as Cleavinger cruised through his outing setting up the dramatic Dave Wills-worthy ending.
Tampa Bay looks for its fourth sweep of the season in the series finale, on Sunday.
The New What Next
Zach Eflin (2-0, 3.27, 2.59 FIP) will return from the 15-Day Injured List on Sunday. He’ll be opposed by Lucas Giolito (1-1, 4.29 ERA, 3.40 FIP).
Zach Eflin (back) reportedly looked good in a bullpen session Monday and is slated to start Sunday. Eflin was placed on the IL on April 11 due to lower-back tightness, but barring any further setbacks, he should be in line for activation when first eligible this weekend. The right-hander had pitched well before the injury, compiling a 3.27 ERA and a 2.59 FIP, with a 12.0 K/BB, and a 1.18 WHIP over 11 innings.
Lucas Giolito will start Sunday’s game against the Rays instead of Lance Lynn, who was originally the probable starter for this contest. In his last start against the Twins on Tuesday, Giolito was sensational, tossing six no-hit innings with seven strikeouts. On the season, Giolito owns a 4.29 ERA and a 3.40 FIP, with a 5.75 K/BB, and a 1.24 WHIP through 21 innings. He relies primarily on a 94 mph fourseam fastball, an 81 mph changeup, and an 84 mph 12-6 slider that has some two-plane movement. Giolito is 2-0 with a 2.27 ERA in six career starts against the Rays. Key Matchups: Randy Arozarena (2-5, 2B, 3B, RBI, BB), Harold Ramírez (2-5, 2B, RBI), Taylor Walls (1-3)
You can read about the series in our preview, while the starting lineup is below.
Rays 4/23/23 Starting Lineup
- Díaz 1B
- Franco SS
- Arozarena LF
- B. Lowe 2B
- Ramírez DH
- Paredes 3B
- Raley RF
- Bethancourt C
- Margot CF
Noteworthiness
— The Rays reinstated Zach Eflin (lower back tightness) from the 15-Day IL so he can start today, and designated RHP Hector Perez — who was added to the 40-man roster and called up Saturday to provide bullpen depth — for assignment.