On Wednesday night, Tampa Bay Rays‘ young left-hander Shane McClanahan did what few pitchers have been able to do this season: dominate the Los Angeles Angels.
He did it in Angel Stadium, too: with seven scoreless innings in which he struck out an incredible 11 hitters, he made history.
“Shane McClanahan (25) becomes the 2nd youngest pitcher in Rays history to go 7+ IP, strikeout 11+ batters, give up 0 runs, and allow 3 hits or fewer in the same game. Only Blake Snell (24) was younger to accomplish this feat,” Baseball Cloud tweeted.
Shane McClanahan (25) becomes the 2nd youngest pitcher in Rays history to go 7+ IP, strikeout 11+ batters, give up 0 runs, and allow 3 hits or fewer in the same game.
Only Blake Snell (24) was younger to accomplish this feat. pic.twitter.com/RaFBrLOnXf
— BaseballCloud (@BaseballCloudUS) May 12, 2022
It was a truly amazing performance, by a truly amazing pitcher.
McClanahan, who made his MLB debut last year, hasn’t allowed more than three earned runs in a start this year, and he has taken the mound seven times.
He Has Blossomed Into An Ace
He is one of the closest things to a guaranteed quality start that exist in MLB at the moment.
For the season, the southpaw is posting an impressive 2.52 ERA and a 2.67 Fielding Independent Pitching, or FIP, and has blossomed into the Rays’ ace in the absence of talented right-hander Tyler Glasnow.
He has a whopping 58 strikeouts in 39.1 frames so far in 2022.
As long as McClanahan is taking the mound every five days, the Rays will have a chance to fight for a postseason spot with the many playoff-hungry teams in the American League.
He is a true difference-maker, and to think he was projected to be a reliever by many scouts when he was drafted and in his development phase.
But he threw more strikes that nearly everybody imagined, and he is now a true ace in one of the majors’ best and most impressive organizations.
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