ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Shane McClanahan pitched six sharp innings, Jose Siri and Wander Franco homered and the Tampa Bay Rays opened their silver anniversary season with a 4-0 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Thursday.
“Hopefully it’s just a start,” said McClanahan, an All-Star a year ago when the Rays made the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season.
With an opening day roster that only includes two newcomers to the team — pitchers Zach Eflin and Kevin Kelly — the Rays feel they have everything it takes to not only earn another postseason berth, but make a deep run.
Solid pitching, timely hitting and stellar defense — like Manuel Margot’s diving catch in right field saved at least one run in the seventh inning — once again figure to be the key to the budget-minded club’s success.
“You can’t always win with home runs,” Franco said through a translator.
“That’s a game-changing play, but I’ve never really been in this building where haven’t played elite defense. It’s one of their calling cards. They make good plays. They finish plays, which is key,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “We needed to get something to happen to get back into the game. That would have been a critical one.”
Miguel Cabrera, beginning what he has said will be his last season, had one of Detroit’s six hits — a seventh-inning double — that moved him into a tie with Ichiro Suzuki for 23rd on the all-time hit list with 3,089.
McClanahan (1-0) gave up four hits, struck out six and walked one in his second opening day start.
Randy Arozarena and Luke Raley also drove in runs charged to Eduardo Rodriguez (0-1), who yielded Siri’s homer in the third inning.
Franco, who sat out the last couple of games in spring training due to right quadriceps…