Rays 4/22/23 pregame notes

There was a raucous +17,000 fans in attendance last night at the Trop. (Photo Credit: X-Rays Spex)

After walking it off against the Chicago White Sox on Friday, the Tampa Bay Rays look to continue their home winning streak — currently sitting at 11-0 — this afternoon with Shane McClanahan on the mound.

The Rays enter play 17-3, 14-games above .500 for the first time this season.

Tampa Bay hit three homers last night, allowing them to extend their season-opening home-run streak to an MLB record-tying 20 games (tying the 2019 Mariners). The also Rays became just the 13th team in the modern era (since 1901) to win at least 17 of its first 20 games.

</p> <p>The Rays’ 45 home runs are second-most through 20 games in AL/NL history behind only the 2000 Cardinals (47).</p> <h4>The New What Next</h4> <p>Shane McClanahan (4-0, 1.57 ERA, 2.41 FIP) will get the start this afternoon, pitching opposite Dylan Cease (2-0, 2.01 ERA, 3.32 FIP). </p> <p><em>Shane McClanahan</em> allowed one run on four hits and two walks over six innings on Sunday against the Blue Jays. He struck out six. McClanahan was spotted a three-run lead to start the game, but he allowed the first three batters to reach in the bottom of the first, including an RBI single by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. However, the southpaw got out of the inning by retiring the next three batters and then cruised through five scoreless frames. McClanahan has four wins in as many tries and currently sports a 1.57 ERA and a 2.41 FIP, with a 2.45 K/BB across 23 innings. The lefthander is 1-1 with a 3.27 ERA in two starts against the White Sox.</p> <p><em>Dylan Cease</em> allowed two runs on six hits and five walks over six innings against the Orioles. He struck out five. Despite a strong start with a four-run lead in the first inning, Cease’s command faltered and he allowed the Orioles to creep back into the contest. A crucial error by Jake Burger in the fourth inning allowed Cedric Mullins to hit a base-clearing triple, and Cease’s wild pitch in the sixth allowed Gunnar Henderson to tie the game at four runs apiece. Although Cease was relieved later in the frame, his 2.02 ERA and 3.32 FIP, 1.07 WHIP, 29.3% K%, and .143 average against reflect his status as a top hurler. He relies primarily on an 86 mph slider that has some two-plane movement and a whiffy 96 mph fourseam fastball, while also mixing in an 80 mph 12-6 curveball that has exceptional bite. Cease is 1-1 with a 2.93 ERA in three starts against Tampa Bay. <em>Key Matchups: Wander Franco (2-3), Manuel Margot (1-4, BB), Harold Ramírez (2-4, 2 RBI)</em></p> <p>You can read about the series in our preview, while the starting lineup and Noteworthiness are below.</p> <figure class="wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-rich is-provider-x-rays-spex"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> <blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="6sWcceBq2F"><a href="http://tampabayrays.co/29728-2/">TNWN: Rays vs White Sox — a series preview</a></blockquote><iframe class="wp-embedded-content" sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" style="position: absolute; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);" title="“TNWN: Rays vs White Sox — a series preview” — X-Rays Spex" src="http://tampabayrays.co/29728-2/embed/#?secret=6sWcceBq2F" data-secret="6sWcceBq2F" width="600" height="338" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no">

Rays 4/22/23 Starting Lineup

Noteworthiness