Paredes, Rays Pummel Rangers To Take Opener in Heavyweight Showdown

Isaac Paredes hit two home runs and had an RBI double, driving in six runs overall in Tampa Bay's 8-3 win over the Texas Rangers on Friday night. The Rays wanted to get off to a good start in this series with the two best teams in baseball, and they did exactly that. Tyler Glasnow pitched well, too, getting his first win in two years.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Before Friday night, the Tampa Bay Rays had already won 24 games by four runs or more this season, and it's still early June. But they all seemed to come with an asterisk from a doubting public that wants to continue to question whether the Rays really are the best team in baseball.

You're beating bad teams, the critics would say. You're cheating, some unbelieving trolls would say. Beat somebody good, most everyone yelled.

So then, how do we explain what happened on Friday night at Tropicana Field? In what is supposed to be a battle of heavyweights between the two best teams in baseball, the Rays clobbered the Texas Rangers 8-3 to take the first game of the three-game series. The Rays have now won seven straight and are a league-best 47-19. Texas falls to 40-22, still the second-best record in the game. 

The Rangers, for all the good they've done so far this year, got the same treatment that everyone else has been getting all year long. There's a different star every night, it seems, and Friday night it was third baseman Isaac Paredes. He had an RBI double in the first inning, a three-run homer in the third and a two-run homer in the sixth. He has 11 homers now on the season, and his six RBIs were a career high.

"(Isaac) was really impressive with a really good day overall at the plate,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “The double early on, two home runs. He's a really good player. He went quiet for a couple of days on the road trip, but he's solid.''

It was the fifth multi-homer night of his career and the second this season. He also did it in New York against the Mets on May 16. He became the sixth Rays player to reach double digits in long balls this season.

"I know this game, streaks can happen,'' Paredes said. "I think that (double in the first inning) was good, because it gave me a lot of confidence.''

Paredes now has 44 RBIs on the season, which leads the team. 

Andrew Heaney took the loss for Texas. He's now 4-4 on the season after giving up four runs in five innings. He's now 0-4 in his career against the Rays.

"They battled and put together good at-bats, that's why they're a good team,'' Heaney said. "We do the same. It was a little frustrating, obviously, because I got to 0-2 on Parades and then didn't make a good pitch and they put up a crooked number and it kind of takes it out of it.''  

Tyler Glasnow made his third start for the Rays after missing the first seven weeks of the season with an oblique injury, and he was terrific. He allowed only one hit — a third-inning home run by No. 9 hitter Leody Taveras — and he got through six innings on just 84 pitches. 

Good evening fellow Tyler Glasnow enthusiasts pic.twitter.com/YpcNNd0AG9

— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) June 9, 2023

"I felt good out there,'' said Glasnow, who picked up his first win in two years and a day after missing a lot of time following Tommy John surgery in 2021. "The curve was my best pitch, and the heater felt good, too. I felt a lot stronger at the end, too, and I think working quicker helped with that. (Pitching coach) Kyle (Snyder) was on me about that, and I definitely think it helped.''

Kevin Kelly pitched a perfect seventh inning for the Rays with two strikeouts. Luis Patino pitched the final two innings, and he gave up a home run to Taveras as well in the eighth inning. It was the first multi-homer game of his four-year career with the Rangers. He also gave up a home run to Josh Jung in the ninth, his 13th of the year.

The two teams meet again on Saturday at 4:10 p.m. ET. Rookie right-hander Taj Bradley will start for the Rays. Nathan Eovaldi will start for Texas. 

"It's always reassuring when you're playing with the two best records, and getting that first win in the series,'' Glasnow said. "There's still a lot of games to play, obviously, but it's great to beat a team like that.''

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• WATCH PAREDES HOME RUNS: Tampa Bay third baseman Isaac Paredes hit two home runs on Friday night in the Rays' easy 8-3 win over the Texas Rangers. Here are the highlights of both bombs into the left-field seats. CLICK HERE