Monday, 4 a.m.
Greatness isn’t always about totaling up the strikeouts. It isn’t always about dominating the other hitter.
Some of it is self-control, a large part of what makes Shane McClanahan the Rays’ stopper.
Go back to the third inning of Sunday’s game. McClanahan was spinning out of control. The Texas Rangers already had a home run, a double, a single and a walk in the inning. They had shaved a four-run deficit to one, and they were threatening to do more damage.
Content beyond this point is for members only.
Already a member? To view the rest of this column, sign in using the handy "Sign In" button located in the upper right corner of the GarySheltonSports.com blog (it's at the far right of the navigation bar under Gary's photo). Not a member? It's easy to subscribe so you can view the rest of this column and all other premium content on GarySheltonSports.com.
And then McClanahan gathered himself. He re-established control, and he didn’t back up another inch. He led his Rays to a 7-3 victory and got his league-leading 10th win. He retired the last 15 hitters he faced against a strong Rangers lineup.
“He’s showing so much poise on the mound,” Rays’ manager Kevin Cash said. “It doesn’t faze him. It doesn’t rattle him. He doesn’t get overly frustrated. He can flush a bad inning, flush a pitch. It doesn’t carry over. That’s the sign of a good player.”
The Rays collected 12 hits in the game, including from the first four batters of the game. The big blow was the first home run since May 9 by Wander Franco (a three-run shot).
The Rays ‘ stolen base streak was stopped at 35 in a row.
The Rays ran into a problem in the ninth when Jason Adam was shaky again. He gave up a hit and two walks to load the bases before a double play grounder ended things.
The Rays travel to the West Coast to face the weak Oakland A’s next at 9:40 p.m. tonight. The Rays haven’t announced their starter but the A’s will go with James Kaprielian.