McClanahan (1-0) allowed four hits and one walk while striking out six across six scoreless innings to earn the win Thursday against the Tigers.
McClanahan earned the Opening Day nod and delivered an excellent performance. He allowed only one extra-base hit and racked up an impressive 16 swinging strikes on 86 total pitches. Perhaps most importantly, the Rays showed little interest in limiting McClanahan after he ended the 2022 regular season with an impingement in his right shoulder.
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Rays' Shane McClanahan: Picked as Opening Day starter
Rotowire
McClanahan has been named the Rays' Opening Day starter, Tricia Whitaker of Bally Sports Sun reports.
McClanahan was an obvious choice, as he's coming off a season which saw him finish sixth in the American League Cy Young race. The left-hander will face off against the Tigers at home March 30.
McClanahan allowed one hit and one walk while striking out two in Wednesday's Grapefruit League game against Atlanta.
McClanahan was on the mound for game action for the first time in 2023, and his outing was a success based on the stat sheet. Per Dawn Klemish of MLB.com, McClanahan worked through adjustments related to the pitch clock, as he noticed he was working too fast and his control was suffering as a result. The issue doesn't currently pose any reason for concern, as McClanahan specifically pointed out he was using the exhibition season to adjust to the new rule.
McClanahan was clocked in the upper-90-mph range Thursday during his first live batting practice session of the spring, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
That's an impressive and encouraging dose of news here in late February. McClanahan battled some injuries in the second half of the 2022 regular season -- most notably a shoulder impingement -- but he ended up with a brilliant 2.54 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and 194:38 K:BB in 28 starts covering 166.1 innings. The 25-year-old left-hander also worked seven solid frames in the Wild Card Series against the Guardians. He's rightly going as a top-10 starter in early fantasy drafts for 2023.
