ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — After the most lopsided loss in franchise history, what the Rays needed most Wednesday was a well-pitched game and a couple of key hits.
And that was exactly what they got, rolling to a 7-3 win over the Blue Jays.
Shane McClanahan delivered a strong seven-inning start, retiring the first 10, allowing four hits, striking out seven and walking none.
Jose Siri homered and singled in a run to lead the offense. Luke Raley also went deep, Wander Franco knocked in two runs, and Isaac Paredes and Manuel Margot also had RBIs.
The win pushed Tuesday’s 20-1 loss further into the past and improved the Rays’ majors-best record to 36-15 before a season-low crowd of 8,699 at Tropicana Field.
McClanahan was the right guy for the Rays to have on the mound after four pitchers — plus position players Raley and Christian Bethancourt — combined to allow a franchise-record 27 hits on Tuesday.
McClanahan didn’t allow a hit until Bo Bichette, the Lakewood High product, doubled with one out in the fourth. He then gave up an RBI single to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. but little else, completing the seven innings in 82 pitches.
McClanahan became the first eight-game winner in the majors as he improved to 8-0 and lowered his ERA to 1.97, which is second best.
Jason Adam replaced McClanahan with a 5-1 lead and made things interesting, allowing two runs and two more runners on base. Rule 5 rookie Kevin Kelly replaced him and kept the lead intact, getting Matt Chapman to ground into a double play.
The Rays grabbed the early lead, as Franco singled, moved up on an out and an infield single, and scored on Paredes’ single. They flexed some muscle in the second off Toronto lefty Yusei Kikuchi, as Raley (who gave up a grand slam to Guerrero on Tuesday) and Siri went deep.
The Rays added on quickly in the fifth. Bethancourt singled, Margot tripled with one out and Franco singled to make it 5-1. They expanded the lead to 7-3 in the eighth on RBI singles by Siri and Franco.
