The Tampa Bay Rays are off to a red-hot start this season.
Much of their success is thanks in large part to their starting pitching.
Left-hander and ace Shane McClanahan has been lights out to start the 2023 season.
After a dominant outing against the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards on Monday night, the young ace is 7-0 with a 1.76 ERA.
Tampa Bay is now 29-7, still sitting atop the standings in the American League East and owning a record better than any team in Major League Baseball.
McClanahan allowed just four hits over six innings of work on Monday, striking out seven Orioles batters.
On MLB Network, former MLB star Mark DeRosa broke down McClanahan’s hot start and what has been working for him this season.
Shane McClanahan is 7-0 with a 1.76 ERA!@markdero7 takes a look at the @RaysBaseball lefty and his pitch execution during last night's W. #MLBCentral pic.twitter.com/nY4srcWyDp
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) May 9, 2023
DeRosa talked about how McClanahan seems to trust his pitch arsenal as well as his abilities to work out of pitching jams.
The left-hander faced one in the bottom of the second last night.
However, after a meeting with pitching coach Kyle Snyder, the left-hander settled back in and worked his way out of it.
DeRosa then noted how McClanahan began to attack the Orioles with his fastball after wiggling his way out of the jam.
McClanahan’s pitch execution certainly helped him against the Orioles on Monday, and DeRosa raved about his ability to think clearly in key situations and fight his way out of jams, which helped him keep the Orioles at bay for six innings.
The Rays ace now has the third-best whiff rate in baseball with a 36.6% mark.
NEXT: The Rays Are Already On A Record-Setting Pace
