Aside from the Angels, who doesn’t love an orange roof? (Photo Credit: X-Rays Spex)

Shane McClanahan was fantastic on Saturday, while the Tampa Bay Rays scored seven two-out runs (11 unanswered runs overall) against the Angels at Tropicana Field.

The Rays have now won four in a row, and enter play Sunday 16-games over .500 and in first in the division.

Shane McClanahan pitched six strong innings, allowing three runs on four hits and two walks while striking out seven. McClanahan recovered from a 36-pitch, three-run third, and threw just 51 pitches in the other five frames combined. All four hits came in the third inning, yet three of the four hits were “lucky,” in that the xBA on them was under .250. All told, the southpaw threw 87 pitches (64 strikes, 74% Str%, 10 swings and misses, 16% SwStr%) and leaning heavily on his fastball and slider combo while also mixing in 11 curveballs and three changeups. McClanahan now owns a 4.09 ERA and a 3.74 FIP on the season, with a 3.81 K/BB and a 1.26 WHIP across 50-2/3 innings.

Tampa Bay took the initial lead in the second inning against former Ray, Alex Cobb. Austin Meadows led off with a first-pitch, 77-mph, broken-bat single to centerfield. We’ll call that the bloop. Then with one out, Manuel Margot launched a 108 mph missile into the left-field seats, putting the Rays up by a pair. We’ll call that the blast.

Down by a run in the fourth, the Rays struck back against their former teammate and never looked back. Randy Arozarena started the rally with an infield hit, then he went to third on a one-out single to right by Ji-Man Choi. One out later, Joey Wendle ripped an RBI single to left, tying the game at three. Then Brett Phillips, mired in an 0-15 slump, followed with a two-run triple to center, putting the Rays up by a pair. The centerfielder capped the scoring when he crossed the plate on a wild pitch.

Tampa Bay began to pour it on over the next two innings against lefty Jose Quintana. In the fifth, Arozarena looped a one-out double to left then moved into third on a wild pitch. Choi was next, ripping a single to center with two outs, putting the Rays up by four.

Then in the sixth, “Gator” Mike Zunino hit a moonshot to left for an 8-3 lead.

And Tampa Bay wasn’t done yet.

In the seventh, Arozarena walked, Meadows doubled to center, and Choi doubled off the top of the wall in right, putting Tampa Bay up by six. After Tampa Bay loaded the bases, thanks to a Margot walk, Phillips lined a one-out single to right, plating a run. Meanwhile, Luis Rengifo’s throw home got away, which scored another run. Then right-hander Junior Guerra walked Brandon Lowe to load the bases before Wander Franco forced home a run, putting the Rays up by nine. Arozarena capped the scoring with an infield single for a 13-3 lead.

Drew Rasmussen worked a scoreless seventh before Louis Head — just up from Durham — pitched a pair of scoreless innings to close things out.

All told, Tampa Bay collected 15 hits — four of which were off the bat of Choi — while Phillips had three RBI. They scored 13 runs, one shy of a season-high, and the most in a game at the Trop this season.

The New What Next

Ryan Yarbrough (4-3, 4.59 ERA) will get the start in the series finale, pitching opposite of Patrick Sandoval (2-2, 3.69 ERA).

Ryan Yarbrough covered just two innings on Tuesday against Boston, surrendering five runs on five hits and a walk while striking out two. Yarbrough has now been blitzed for 10 runs between his last two turns, raising his season ERA from 3.88 to 4.59. While he’s not necessarily at risk of losing his roster spot, expect Kevin Cash to role out an opener in front of him for the foreseeable future, and keep the lefty on a short leash. Yarbrough has a 4.36 FIP on the season, with a 1.20 WHIP and a 4.71 K/BB across 80-1/3 innings. He held the Angels to two runs on five scattered hits and two walks across five innings on May 5.

Patrick Sandoval allowed three runs on four hits and two walks while striking out nine across 5-2/3 innings on Saturday versus Detroit. Sandoval got into a jam in the sixth inning, resulting in his exit two outs in the frame as the Tigers had a sequence of four right-handed hitters due up. He, however, has yet to allow more than two earned runs in a start this season. The lefty has a 3.69 ERA and a 4.74 FIP on the season, with a 1.26 WHIP and a 2.67 K/BB across 39 innings. Sandoval gave up just one hit against the Rays on May 3 while striking out four and walking two in two relief innings. Key Matchup: Yandy Díaz (1-1)

You can read about the series in our preview, while the starting lineup is below.

Rays 6/27/21 Starting Lineup

  1. Díaz 3B
  2. Franco SS
  3. Meadows DH
  4. Arozarena LF
  5. Choi 1B
  6. Margot RF
  7. Lowe 2B
  8. Zunino C
  9. Kiermaier CF
  10. Yarbrough LHP

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