If you're reading this, the Tampa Bay Rays have done it again. Death, taxes, and the Rays beating the Blue Jays—some things are just inevitable in baseball. On a crisp Tuesday evening in Toronto, Tampa Bay edged out a 7-5 victory, improving their already dominant record against the American League to an eye-popping 19-3.
Leading the charge was none other than ace Shane McClanahan, who looked every bit like the Cy Young contender of old. Over five electric innings, "Sugar Shane" froze Blue Jays hitters in "The 6ix," allowing just one hit and one walk while striking out seven. His final pitch—a 97 MPH fastball that caught the corner—extended his career-long scoreless streak to 21.2 innings and dropped his season ERA to a sparkling 2.27. If this is the return of McClanahan, the rest of the league should be worried.
The Rays gave their starter early breathing room, jumping on Toronto lefty Patrick Corbin from the first pitch. In the opening frame, Jonathan Aranda singled, Junior Caminero followed suit, and Jonny DeLuca delivered a two-out RBI double to make it 1-0. The third inning saw more of the same: Caminero singled again, Ben Williamson doubled, and Cedric Mullins came through with a clutch two-out, two-run single to push the lead to 3-0.
Tampa Bay kept the pressure on. In the sixth, Taylor Walls scored on a wild pitch from reliever Tommy Nance. Then in the seventh, "The Rig" Ryan Vilade launched a solo homer—390 feet, 102.5 mph off the bat—to extend the advantage to 5-0. It seemed like smooth sailing.
But baseball has a way of humbling even the best teams. Toronto roared back in the bottom of the seventh, batting around and tying the game at 5-5 in a sudden, scary turn. The bullpen steadied the ship, holding the line and forcing extra innings.
In the 10th, Cedric Mullins started as the ghost runner on second. Taylor Walls—who else?—drove him in with a single. Then Aranda added a sacrifice fly to give the Rays a 7-5 lead. Closer Garrett Cleavinger entered in the bottom half, and though Toronto managed one run, Andres Gimenez grounded out to Caminero (who shook off two earlier errors) to end the game.
The Rays remain the top dog in the junior circuit, and they'll look to keep rolling when they face the Blue Jays again from Rogers Centre. If the first game was any indication, you might want to keep reading.
