SEATTLE — Shane McClahanan did not deliver anything close to the “regular start” Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash said they expected after he recovered from a bout with back tightness.
McClanahan lasted only three innings, having trouble with command and location — as well as the PitchCom receiver in his cap — and left his team in a four-run hole.
But that didn’t deter his teammates, who seemed determined to pick him and rallied for a 15-4 win that was their third straight and improved their MLB-leading record to 57-28.
The Rays had to work hard initially just to get even, scoring in fourth, fifth and sixth innings to make it a 4-4 game.
Then they had an easy time turning it into a blowout, taking advantage of some bad pitching and sloppy fielding by the Seattle Mariners to score eight in the eighth.
Every Rays starter drove in a run, All-Star starting outfielder Randy Arozarena led the way with three, and Josh Lowe and Jose Siri (who hit his team-leading 16th homer in the ninth) with two.
The Rays said the decision to take McClanahan out was not injury related, meaning they felt the 66 pitches he threw were enough.
While his fastball velocity — which Cash said would be the primary barometer — looked fine, McClanahan seemed to have issues with command and location, and repeated problems with the PitchCom receiver, from which he hears the pitch selection made by catcher Christian Bethancourt. The T-Mobile Park crowd of 37,063 may have had something to do with that.
Although the Rays trailed 4-0 when McClanahan left, they rallied to tie it in the sixth and take the lead in the eighth, scoring eight total in the inning.
They got two in the fourth, on a homer by Arozarena. They got one in the fifth, when Wander Franco tripled for the second straight game and Luke Raley singled him in. And they got even in the sixth when Lowe homered (for the first time since May 21).
The Rays went ahead when Raley opened the eighth on a double, went to third on an Arozarena single and scored on a fielder’s choice grounder by Isaac Paredes. They added another on a double by Lowe, who has heated up this week, to make it 6-4.
And they kept scoring from there, then added three more in the ninth when Seattle had first baseman Mike Ford on the mound.
