Rays get good news on injured ace amid slump

The Tampa Bay Rays got some good news on injured ace Shane McClanahan Friday morning.

The southpaw went on the 15-day injured list on July 1 due to back tightness and the Rays have lost a season-high five games in a row since.

McClanahan was selected to his second career (and second consecutive) AL All-Star team earlier this month and has been one of the best pitchers in the junior circuit all year.

The 2018 first-round pick has an MLB-leading 11 wins (against just one loss), is third in the AL in ERA (2.53) and fourth in hits per nine innings pitched (6.9). McClanahan has already matched last season's 38 walks in just 96 innings covering 17 starts, but he's also racked up 101 strikeouts.

Tampa Bay (57-33) has been in first place in the competitive AL East since the start of their season-opening 13-game winning streak, a stretch that's lasted 99 days. While their biggest lead in the division has only been 6.5 games (on July 1), due largely to the big first half from the second-place Baltimore Orioles (51-35), that advantage is now down to four games.

The Rays start a three-game weekend set against the Atlanta Braves (58-28) on Friday at home, before beginning the All-Star break.

McClanahan started the 2022 All-Star Game for the AL but missed time later in the summer because of a shoulder injury.

To hold off the Orioles, and perhaps a second-half push from the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees and/or Toronto Blue Jays, Tampa Bay will need their ace fully healthy.