The Tampa Bay Rays defeated the Milwaukee Brewers, 1-0, in front of plus 19,000 fans. (Photo Credit: X-Rays Spex)

After defeating the Milwaukee Brewers, 1-0, on Friday, the Tampa Bay Rays will go for the series win this afternoon at the Trop.

At 33-13 on the season, the Rays enter play 20 games over .500, 3.5 games ahead of the second-place Orioles.

Shane McClanahan played the role of the stopper in his longest outing of the season, allowing no runs on six hits and a walk while striking out seven. He did so with his second-lowest pitch count (83 pitches, 60 strikes, 72% strike rate) of his campaign, and worked just one inning longer than 15 pitches (only two frames required more than 11 pitches). It was a bounce-back outing for the left-hander, who walked a career-high-tying four batters in each of his past two turns on the mound. So, how did McClanahan fix things to become more effective and efficient? A tweak in his mechanics — in his words, staying behind his pitches, and spinning them rather than muscling them into the strike zone — and filling up the zone. McClanahan was able to lower both his ERA and FIP to 2.05 and 3.60 (respectively) with his outing, and he now maintains an improved 1.19 WHIP (down from 1.22) and 2.72 K/BB (up from 2.54) across 57.0 innings on the season.

In all fairness, Tampa Bay’s de facto ace also got a little help from his defense, as showcased in the following videos.

McClanahan kept the Rays in the game, allowing the offense to push across the only run the team would need in the eighth inning.

After going 0-2 on the night, Luke Raley was hit by a pitch from Brewers’ reliever Peter Strzelecki to lead off the eighth. As he swiped second, William Contreras air-mailed his corresponding throw, and as it bounded away, Raley made his way into third base — putting himself into prime scoring position with one out. Four pitches later, Francisco Mejía hit a sacrifice fly, plating the game’s only run.

The New What Next

Zach Eflin (5-1, 3.38 ERA, 3.50 FIP) will get the start in this afternoon’s matinee contest, pitching opposite Eric Lauer (4-4, 4.54 ERA, 5.97 FIP).

Zach Eflin allowed four runs on seven hits and a walk over six innings against the Yankees. He struck out nine. Eflin was charged with four runs in the third inning on a pair of two-run homers from Oswaldo Cabrera and Anthony Rizzo. The 29-year-old right-hander has now surrendered eight runs in his last two outings after allowing just seven runs in his first five starts this season. Eflin still sports a solid 3.38 ERA and a 3.50 FIP, with a 1.08 WHIP, and an 8.5 K/BB through 40 innings on the season. He is 2-2 with a 4.18 ERA in five career starts against the Brewers.

Eric Lauer Allowed two runs on two hits and two walks over 5.1 innings against the Royals on Sunday. He struck out six. Lauer took over for Colin Rea with two outs in the fourth inning and was able to pitch the rest of the way. He only gave up two hits (both of which were solo shots) and tied his season high with six strikeouts. Overall, Lauer had a nice bounce-back outing after serving up 12 runs (seven earned) over his last 11.1 innings heading into Sunday. Lauer now sits at a 4.54 ERA and a 5.97 FIP, with a 1.44 WHIP, and 2.17 K/BB over 39.2 innings on the season. He relies primarily on a 91 mph fourseam fastball and an 87 mph cutter, while also mixing in a 76 mph curveball, and an 83 mph slider. Key Matchups: Yandy Díaz (1-3, 2B), Wander Franco (1-3, 2B, RBI), Francisco Mejía (1-2), Harold Ramírez (2-3, BB)

You can read about the series in our preview, while the starting lineup and Noteworthiness are below.

Rays 5/20/23 Starting Lineup

  1. Díaz 1B
  2. Franco SS
  3. Ramírez DH
  4. Arozarena LF
  5. Paredes 3B
  6. Bethabcourt C
  7. Walls 2B
  8. Margot RF
  9. Siri CF

Noteworthiness

— Tyler Glasnow returned to the mound on Tuesday and pitched four scoreless frames with nine strikeouts for Triple-A Durham. Glasnow’s fastball averaged 97.3 mph in that outing and maxed out at 99.4 mph, and he induced 16 swinging strikes on 57 pitches (28% SwStr).

The right-hander threw a bullpen session Friday afternoon at the Trop, and told Rays skipper Kevin Cash he felt “100%.” He is slated for one more rehab start on Sunday, and if all goes well, Glasnow will be ready to make his season debut before the end of Tampa Bay’s current 10-game homestand.

— Kevin Cash said Yandy Díaz (left groin tightness) was “doing really, really well” and he should be back in the lineup Saturday afternoon against the Brewers.