ANAHEIM, Calif. — Tampa Bay Rays left-hander Shane McClanahan surrendered eight hits and four earned runs in four innings at Angel Stadium, and a bases-loaded rally in the ninth fell one run short in a 4-3 loss to the Los Angeles Angels.
McClanahan, 29, entered with a career 1.29 ERA against the Angels but hadn’t pitched at Angel Stadium since May 11, 2022, a gap that spanned a two-and-a-half-year layoff including a second Tommy John surgery that wiped out his 2024 season and nerve-related issues that sidelined him for all of 2025. He walked one and struck out seven on 74 pitches but could not contain the Angels’ offense after the first inning.
“I’ve just got to pitch better,” McClanahan said. “It’s frustrating. These last couple go-arounds have not gone my way. As much as I want to say that if I compete the way I compete and trust, good things will happen, I want to start seeing some good results. I’ve let a lot of people down in this room, this organization. Got to pitch better.”
The decisive damage came in the third inning. Oswald Peraza led off with a double against a 95.8 mph four-seamer and later scored on a two-out single by Nick Madrigal. Logan O’Hoppe followed with an RBI single to left on an elevated changeup. The outing mirrored McClanahan’s previous start June 6 in Miami, when he allowed four runs on eight hits in five innings.
McClanahan lobbied manager Kevin Cash and pitching coach Kyle Snyder to stay in the game after four innings with the Rays trailing 4-2. “That’s what I wanted – the ball,” McClanahan said. “Let me go back out there. Let me go compete. Ultimately, Cash and Snyder have the final say. I’ll listen to them. I’ll never be disrespectful and trust them to make the right decision for myself and this team and if I wasn’t the right guy to have out there to put us in the position to win, then I fully respect that. And I want that guy out there.”
Reliever Mason Englert took over in the fifth and delivered four crucial innings of scoreless relief. Jonathan Aranda spearheaded the comeback effort, lashing a two-run single to left in the fifth after Chandler Simpson walked, Nick Fortes reached on a fielding error by shortstop Zach Neto and Taylor Walls loaded the bases with a bunt single. Aranda struck again in the ninth with an RBI single off Mitch Farris to pull Tampa Bay within 4-3 and put the tying run at third.
“We kept fighting the entire game and we showed resiliency,” Aranda said through interpreter Kevin Vera. “To study yourself and analyze yourself as a player, you’ve got to look through your at-bats. … Very happy that I was able to make those adjustments.”
The rally ended when Ryan Zeferjahn entered to strike out Cedric Mullins with the bases loaded. The loss also featured an unusual eighth-inning episode when the stadium’s Automated Ball-Strike challenge system went entirely offline as Ben Williamson attempted to challenge a called third strike. “Unique. I had never seen a ‘call stands.’ I don’t think the umpires had,” Cash said. “We were told that the replay came back on, but I don’t think ABS ever came back on.” Williamson shrugged off the malfunction: “That’s part of the game. Last year we wouldn’t even have had this discussion, so it didn’t go my way, but there was definitely a little bit of confusion with that.” The Rays continue their series at Angel Stadium with the next game on the schedule.