ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. _ Brendan McKay made quite the major league debut for the Rays on Saturday, retiring the first 16 batters he faced and 18 of 20 overall, in a 5-2 victory over Texas.
McKay, the 2017 first-round pick and touted two-way prospect, was cool and calm, in control and command from the start, taking a perfect game into the sixth, then allowing a one-out opposite-field bloop single to Danny Santana. After a bunt, he walked Shin-soo Choo, then struck out Delino DeShields to get out of the inning with the Rays' 3-0 lead intact.
McKay, 23, worked quickly and businesslike, throwing strikes and getting outs on balls put in play, which isn't a bad combination. He threw 81 pitches, with 55 for strikes, allowing the one hit and one walk and striking out three, working both sides of the plate as well as up and down and changing speeds.
The lefty did allow a couple of hard-hit balls, but the Rays defense had his back, including Austin Meadows making a running and leaping catch in leftfield in the second and center fielder Kevin Kiermaier running down a deep drive in the third.
McKay, who also played first base until the Rays limited him to DH duty this year on non-pitching days, helped himself by running down and catching a Joey Gallo popup in foul territory near third-base in the second.
McKay was lifted after the sixth inning, with Colin Poche and Oliver Drake following and then Jose Alvarado, in his first appearance since June 1 due to an extended absence so he could attend to his mother, who had medical issues, in his native Venezuela. He allowed one run on one hit and a wild pitch in the ninth.
The Rays (47-36) made it easier for McKay by staking him to a 3-0 lead in the second inning before an announced crowd of 16,655 at Tropicana Field.
Yandy Diaz and Joey Wendle doubled for the first run, then Avisail Garcia hit an opposite-field two-run homer, his first since June 4 and 12th of the season. They added two in the seventh on back to back homers by Willy Adames (his 10th) and Travis d'Arnaud (his fifth).
McKay is slated to pitch again for the Rays on Friday against the Yankees.
He was called up after dazzling this season at Double-A Montgomery and Triple-A Durham.
He was 3-0, 1.30 in eight games (seven starts) for the Biscuits with 62 strikeouts over 41 2/3 innings and only nine walks. He was promoted in late May to the Bulls, and went 3-0, 1.08 in five games (four starts) with 26 strikeouts over 25 innings and only six walks. Overall in 2019 in the minors, he was 6-0, 1.22 with 88 strikeouts and 15 walks in 66 2/3 innings.
McKay was the No. 4 overall pick in the 2017 draft and signed for a then record $7,007,500 bonus. He has continued to work through the minors as a two-way player, though the Rays this season limited him to DH duties when he wasn't pitching rather than playing first base as he had. Though his pitching is generally considered well ahead of his hitting, he has improved since moving up to Durham, hitting .265 with four homers and 10 RBIs in 15 games.
