ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Rays starting pitcher Shane McClanahan is becoming quite the perfectionist. Tampa Bay's ace wasn't impressed with his last outing in San Diego—an outing where he gave up only one run and three hits in six and two-thirds innings.
"It wasn’t my easiest outing. It wasn’t my best outing. It was gritty, and I’m pretty proud of that," McClanahan said Friday night after the Rays win. "I don’t really know if a couple years ago I would’ve found a way to get through that. When I feel like I didn't have my best stuff."
Rays manager Kevin Cash isn't buying it.
"Did he have some adversity recently?" Cash said with a smirk in the Rays dugout.
Entering play Thursday, McClanahan is 11-1 with a 2.12 ERA. Both are the best marks in baseball.
Despite being the most dominant starter in the big leagues so far this season, the former USF star said he's always working to improve some aspect of his game.
"I don’t think anyone in the world thinks they never have to work on something," Shane explained during a clubhouse interview. "It’s such an imperfect game, where I could’ve done this better, I could’ve done that better. Yeah, I feel like everybody in here, including myself, is always working."
McClanahan, 26, admitted the younger version of himself might not handle rough patches as well as he does now. He gives credit to the Rays' overall culture for his ability to mature.
"Having a really good relationship with this entire coaching staff. Being able to communicate how we feel. You know, what we want to work on, what we want to accomplish," McClanahan added. "Understanding myself better as a competitor, as a pitcher. And experience, too. Experience is a huge factor in success, I feel like. You’ve been there, done that. You know how to respond to certain situations."
Cash joked that his ace doesn't face much adversity during his starts, but he is continuing to improve his mental approach to the game.
"I do think Shane has continued to kinda grow with his mindset of being an elite professional pitcher. That’s kinda what he’s shown start after start."
McClananhan gets the start tonight as the Rays open a four-game home series against the Kansas City Royals. The first pitch is set for 6:40 p.m. at Tropicana Field.
