McClanahan becomes 1st 8-game winner, Rays rebound from loss to beat Blue Jays 7-3
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) - Shane McClanahan became the first eight-game winner in the majors and the Tampa Bay Rays rebounded from a 19-run loss to beat the Toronto Blue Jays 7-3 on Wednesday night.
McClanahan (8-0) allowed one run, four hits and struck out seven in seven innings. Tampa Bay is 10-1 when the left-hander takes the mound.
McClanahan joins Matt Moore (2013) and Charlie Morton (2019) as the only Rays pitchers to start 8-0 as Tampa Bay improved to 23-5 at home.
Luke Raley and Jose Siri homered for the major league-best Rays (36-15), who lead the big leagues with 97 homers.
Raley, a first baseman, pitched 1 2/3 innings Tuesday night in a 20-1 loss to the Blue Jays in which he allowed seven runs, including a grand slam by Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
The announced crowd was a season-low 8,699. The Rays started the day averaging 17,478, which was ninth in the American League.
Toronto, which lost for the eighth time in 10 games, got a pinch-hit homer by Cavan Biggio during a two-run eighth off Jason Adam that made it 5-3.
Kevin Kelly replaced Adam with two on and got an inning-ending double play from Matt Chapman on an 105.6 mph grounder to second.
Tampa Bay regained a four-run lead, at 7-3. on eighth-inning RBI singles by Siri and Wander Franco.
Blue Jays catcher Danny Jansen left in the fifth with left groin tightness.
Raley and Siri hit solo homers in the second off Yusei Kikuchi (5-2) as the Rays took a 3-0 lead. Isaac Paredes had a first-inning RBI single.
McClanahan retired his first 10 batters before Bo Bichette doubled with one out in the fourth and scored on Guerrero's single. Guerrero drove in six runs Tuesday.
Tampa Bay went ahead 5-1 in the fourth when Manuel Margot had a run-scoring triple and came home on Franco's single.
Franco had three hits and stole his 15th base.
Kikuchi, who became the 11th Japanese-born to pitcher reach 100 MLB starts, gave up five runs and eight hits over five innings.
LONG WAIT
The Rays selected from Triple-A Durham former New York Yankees reliever Ben Heller, who last pitched in the majors on Sept. 4, 2020.
“There's been a lot of times in the last three years that I doubted if I've ever get another chance,” said Heller, who has been limited to 23 minor league games since a right elbow stress fracture in 2021. “Been getting a little emotional thinking about it.”
TRAINER'S ROOM
Rays: 1B Yandy Diaz is away addressing a family matter. ... 2B Brandon Lowe (stiff neck) should start Thursday after being out of the lineup two days.
UP NEXT
Toronto RHP Alek Manoah (1-4) and Rays RHP Zach Eflin (6-1) are set to start Thursday.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Dangerous brew: Ocean heat and La Nina combo likely mean more Atlantic hurricanes this summer
Get ready for what nearly all the experts think will be one of the busiest Atlantic hurricane seasons on record, thanks to unprecedented ocean heat and a brewing La Nina.
'Looking over our shoulders': A killing looms large in a little B.C. town
Something shifted in the pretty little village of Lumby, B.C., after Tatjana Stefanski vanished.
Officer who arrested Scottie Scheffler is being disciplined for not having bodycam activated
The Kentucky police officer who arrested top-ranked golfer Scottie Scheffler outside the PGA Championship is receiving “corrective action” for failing to have his body-worn camera activated.
Hundreds have applied for this 'adventurer' job in Banff National Park
Coined as Banff's 'ultimate summer job,' the Moraine Lake Bus Company says hundreds of people from across the world have applied for its adventurer position.
Potential tornado 'surreal' for residents who witnessed damaging storm in southern Ontario
Witnessing a potential tornado was 'surreal' for residents who caught a glimpse of the damaging storm in southern Ontario on Wednesday night.
Jennifer Lopez's response to question about Ben Affleck is a reminder of their decades of love in the spotlight
Plenty of people are wondering if Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck are having problems in their marriage, but one person had the nerve to ask in a public forum.
Was this the bug that stung you? Wasp sightings revive murder-hornet concerns; no detections confirmed
As temperatures rise out of a mild El Nino winter, Canada's buggy season is already upon us again, and this year, the bugs are looking especially big.
New bill would let Canadians pass citizenship rights down to children born abroad
A new government bill tabled in the House of Commons on Thursday would allow Canadians to pass citizenship rights down to their children born outside the country — a move that would add an unknown number of new citizens.
WestJet planning new fare category for travellers willing to forgo carry-on bag
WestJet Airlines plans to launch a new cheaper fare category that would be available to travellers willing to fly without a carry-on bag.