Mcclanahan to start for Rays
Baz will take the mound in Game 2 of Division Series
Tampa Bay left-hander Shane Mcclanahan will start Game 1 of the Rays’ AL Division Series on Thursday night.
Rays manager Kevin Cash made the announcement before a team workout on Tuesday.
Rookie Shane Baz will take the mound for Game 2 on Friday night. Depending on bullpen use in the opening two games, Cash said Drew Rasmussen is the “highly likely” Game 3 starter.
Tampa Bay will face the winner of Tuesday night’s wild-card game between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox.
Mcclanahan, who last year became the first pitcher to make his major league debut in the postseason, went 10-6 with a 3.43 ERA in 25 starts this season.
Baz, a member of the silver-medal winning U.S. Olympic team, was 2-0 with a 2.03 ERA in three starts after being called up from Triple-a Durham last month.
Rasmussen, acquired from Milwaukee in May, went 4-0 and had a 2.44 ERA in 20 games, including 10 starts for Tampa Bay.
Nationals: Shortstop Alcides Escobar agreed to a one-year, $1 million contract to stay with Washington next season.
Rangers: Texas dismissed hitting coach Luis Ortiz and bench coach Don Wakamatsu after a 102-loss season.
Rockies: Colorado agreed to multiyear deals with righthander Antonio Senzatela and first baseman C.J. Cron. Senzatela’s $50.5 million, five-year contract includes a club option for 2027. Cron will return on a $14.5 million, two-year deal.
Obituary: Eddie Robinson, the oldest living former major league player whose more than six decades in professional baseball included being general manager for two teams, has died. He was 100. The Texas Rangers, the team for which Robinson was GM from 1976-82, said he died Monday night at his ranch in Bastrop, Texas.