Can Shane McClanahan, 26, who has recently been sidelined by injury and watched his team crash and burn, save the Tampa Bay Rays?

The Tampa Bay organization announced today that it has activated McClanahan from the 15-day disabled list. McClanahan will start immediately against the Texas Rangers on Aug. 18.

McClanahan was previously sidelined with back soreness in late June and earlier this month. He spent the last two days on the 15-day disabled list before returning today.

In the meantime, Tampa Bay’s record has slipped. Losing the overall major league lead to the Atlanta Braves is old news, and now the division lead is in jeopardy.

Through 17 games, Tampa Bay sits atop the American League East with a 60-36 record and a .625 winning percentage, but is only one game behind the second-place Baltimore Orioles.바카라사이트

A Baltimore win and a Tampa Bay loss today would change the lead. This is the first crunch for Tampa Bay, which has made a remarkable run with an opening 14-game winning streak.

Ace McClanahan is tasked with preventing the team from falling to second place in the district. The stage was set for the ace to prove why he was the ace.

Before his injury, McClanahan had pitched 96 innings in 17 games this season, going 11-1 with a 2.53 ERA. He struck out 101 batters.

That’s the best ERA in all of baseball. It will be interesting to see if McClanahan can prove himself as Tampa Bay’s ace and prevent the Rays from falling to second place in the division.