MLB

Kansas City Royals at Tampa Bay Rays

· Major League Baseball
Kansas City Royals
21-54, 11-26 Away
Final
6 - 5
Tampa Bay Rays
52-26, 32-9 Home

MLB-best Rays lose ace McClanahan to back injury, and game 6-5 to lowly Royals

The major league-leading Rays lost ace Shane McClanahan to mid-back tightness in a 6-5 loss to the lowly Kansas City Royals on Thursday night.

Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash said there were no plans for additional tests.

“I don't want to speculate, it's still pretty early, but the leading notion is we don't think it's anything severe," McClanahan said, “Just maybe more of a precautionary move just to maybe limit whatever it is."

McClanahan was looking to become the majors' first 12-game winner of the year before leaving with two outs in the fourth. The left-hander, 11-1 this season, gave up two runs, four hits and two walks in a 66-pitch outing.

“It was something he felt before his last start and he kind of managed it really well,” Cash said. “The way the ball was coming out (tonight) I think we was favoring it a little bit more. In those moments we need to err on the side of caution.”

Maikel Garcia drew a walk from Pete Fairbanks (0-2) to start the ninth, then stole second and third. After Fairbanks got a pair of strikeouts, Garcia scored on MJ Melendez’s infield single down the first-base line to put the Royals ahead 6-5. The Royals stole seven bases overall.

Aroldis Chapman (3-2) struck out the side during a perfect eighth, topping out at 102.6 mph. Scott Barlow got three outs for his ninth save.

Kansas City took a 3-2 lead in the seventh on Drew Waters' solo homer and his two-run eighth-inning single off Jason Adam tied it at 5.

“(My) smile comes just from beating the Tampa Bay Rays,” said Waters, who entered hitting .167. “Everyone knows the type team they are, and the quality that they bring every night top to bottom. As a team I thought we played really well, and that's what we're capable of.”

Francisco Mejía hit a homer leading the seventh and Randy Arozarena had a two-run single as Tampa Bay went up 5-3. Arozarena also had an RBI single during a two-run first and has 53 RBI.

The Rays (52-26) dropped to 32-9 at home. Kansas City has the second-worst record in the majors at 21-54.

Cash announced before the game that shortstop Wander Franco would not play at least Thursday and Friday games due to how he has handled frustrating situations this season.

Former Tampa Bay coach Matt Quatraro faced his old team for the first time as the Royals manager.

GREAT BEGINNING

Royals LHP Austin Cox entered with one out in the second and didn’t allow a hit to his first 11 batters to extend his run of not giving one up to begin his career to 39. The stretch, ended by Yandy Díaz's single in the fifth, is the longest since 1961, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. He recorded 34 outs, walked four and one batter reached on error.

“It's awesome.” Cox said.

Family and friends made the trip from Georgia for the game.

TRAINERS ROOM

Royals: LHP Amir Garrett (left elbow) walked three and struck out one in two-thirds of an ininng in his first game with Triple-A Omaha. ... LHP Ryan Yarbrough (facial fractures), who was hit by a 106.2 mph ball off the bat of Oakland’s Ryan Noda on May 7, will make his second rehab start Saturday for Omaha. ... 1B Vinnie Pasquantino had right shoulder labrum surgery Wednesday and is expected to be ready for 2023.

Rays: 2B Brandon Lowe (herniated disc) will hit against relievers Andrew Kittredge (Tommy John surgery) and Calvin Faucher (right elbow) on Friday. ... RF Luke Raley was hit on the hand by a pitch in the first but stayed in the game. Postgame X-rays were negative but he will undergo further tests Friday.

UP NEXT

Rays RHP Zach Eflin (8-3) was set to face RHP Zack Greinke (1-7) on Friday night.

How can I watch Kansas City Royals vs. Tampa Bay Rays?
  • TV Channel: Royals at Rays 2022 MLB Baseball, is broadcasted on MLB.tv.
  • Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Matchup Prediction

Rays: 82.8%
Royals: 17.2%
*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Scoring Summary

9th Inning Paredes struck out swinging.
9th Inning Arozarena struck out swinging.
9th Inning Raley singled to center.
9th Inning Díaz grounded out to third.
9th Inning Barlow relieved Chapman
9th Inning Olivares popped out to shortstop.

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/mlb/500/kc.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originKC https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/mlb/500/tb.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originTB
1 Games Played 1
1 Team Games Played 1
0 Hit By Pitch 1
16 Ground Balls 5
8 Strikeouts 13
6 Runs Batted In 5
0 Sacrifice Hit 1
9 Hits 10
7 Stolen Bases 0
4 Walks 3
0 Catcher Interference 0
6 Runs 5
0 Ground Into Double Play 0
0 Sacrifice Flies 1
37 At Bats 34
1 Home Runs 1
0 Grand Slam Home Runs 0
22 Runners Left On Base 16
1 Triples 0
1 Game Winning RBIs 0
0 Intentional Walks 0
0 Doubles 1
13 Fly Balls 18
0 Caught Stealing 0
160 Pitches 161
0 Games Started 0
1 Pinch At Bats 0
0 Pinch Hits 0
0.0 Player Rating 0.0
1 Is Qualified 1
1 Is Qualified In Steals 0
14 Total Bases 14
41 Plate Appearances 40
162.0 Projected Home Runs 162.0
2 Extra Base Hits 2
6.1 Runs Created 5.5
.243 Batting Average .294
.000 Pinch Hit Average .000
.378 Slugging Percentage .412
.432 Secondary Average .206
.317 On Base Percentage .359
.695 OBP Pct + SLG Pct .771
1.2 Ground To Fly Ball Ratio 0.3
5.8 Runs Created Per 27 Outs 5.7
45.5 Batter Rating 35.0
37.0 At Bats Per Home Run 34.0
1.00 Stolen Base Percentage 0.00
3.90 Pitches Per Plate Appearance 4.03
.135 Isolated Power .118
0.50 Walk To Strikeout Ratio 0.23
.098 Walks Per Plate Appearance .075
.189 Secondary Average Minus Batting Average -.088
12.0 Runs Produced 10.0
1.0 Runs Ratio 1.0
0.5 Patience Ratio 0.5
0.3 Balls In Play Average 0.5
87.8 MLB Rating 85.3
0.0 Offensive Wins Above Replacement 0.0
0.0 Wins Above Replacement 0.0

Game Information

Tropicana Field

Location: St. Petersburg, Florida
Attendance: 10,436 | Capacity:

2024 American League Central Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Cleveland 92 69 .571 - L2
Kansas City 86 76 .531 6.5 W1
Detroit 86 76 .531 6.5 L2
Minnesota 82 80 .506 10.5 L4
Chicago 41 121 .253 51.5 W2

2024 American League East Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
New York 94 68 .580 - W1
Baltimore 91 71 .562 3 W3
Boston 81 81 .500 13 W1
Tampa Bay 80 82 .494 14 L1
Toronto 74 88 .457 20 L3
Full Standings