McKay lights-out again for Stone Crabs

A month-long stint on the disabled list clouded a complicated situation surrounding Brendan McKay. The second-ranked Rays prospect hasn't given up a run while being held to 46 pitches in each of his two starts since returning to the Class A Advanced Charlotte rotation from an oblique injury.
On Tuesday, McKay showed he could push himself a bit further and maintain success, yielding three hits and a walk over five innings as the Stone Crabs blanked Bradenton, 4-0, at Charlotte Sports Park. The 22-year-old threw 49 of 70 pitches for strikes while recording five punchouts and lowering his ERA to 3.06.

"When you get out there, you just want to do everything you're capable of," McKay told MiLB.com last month. "Pound the zone and get strikes and obviously get outs for your team and put them in a spot where you can win."
Gameday box score
The outing marked the ninth scoreless performance in full-season ball and fifth in the Florida State League for MLB.com's 29th overall prospect this year. McKay went 2-0 with a 1.09 ERA in six starts for Class A Bowling Green, striking out 40 and holding opponents to a .196 average over 24 2/3 innings. 
He came on strong after being promoted to Charlotte on May 14, posting back-to-back scoreless outings for wins in his first two starts.
"Guys are swinging a lot, so you can use that to your advantage," the Darlington, Pennsylvania, native said of Florida State League foes. "You can pitch to contact where you're going to get weak contact or pitch for swing and misses where guys are going to get aggressive and use some off-speed and change elevation."
The No. 4 overall pick in last year's Draft hit a rough patch and was tagged for 12 runs in three starts spanning 12 2/3 innings. McKay (3-2) was unable to complete four frames in the last two outings of his difficult stretch and was shut down on June 15. He made two rehab appearances in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League nearly a month later before rejoining the Stone Crabs on July 26.
While his FSL batting average sits at .224, he's 9-for-35 since returning to the lineup with three homers, two of which came in the same contest on July 27 against St. Lucie.
"It was really not thinking about a whole lot," McKay told MiLB.com after the career performance. "It had been six days since I last swung a bat, so I was just out there trying to get a feel for it again and let the bat work for me and not do too much."
On Tuesday, Jared Oliva, the game's first batter, greeted McKay with a single to right field but quickly got picked off by the left-hander. McKay worked around Bligh Madris' one-out single in the second with a pair of strikeouts and needed only six pitches to get through a 1-2-3 third.

Adrian Valerio knocked a base hit to center to start the fourth but advanced no further, and McKay induced a double play from Casey Hughston following John Bormann's leadoff walk in the fifth. The University of Louisville product won an eight-pitch battle with Brett Pope for a strikeout to conclude his outing.
Phoenix Sanders took over for McKay, striking out five and coming within a hit batter of three perfect innings. Trevor Charpie nailed down the final three outs to complete the Stone Crabs' 10th shutout.
Jake Fraley collected three hits, including two doubles, and a pair of RBIs to pace the Charlotte offense.