ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Zach Eflin took a shutout into the seventh inning, Isaac Paredes hit a three-run homer in a four-run fifth and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Texas Rangers 5-2 on Tuesday night.
Eflin (1-1) allowed three of his five hits and a lone run in the seventh, then was removed after Jonah Heim's one-out RBI single. Heim also had a two-out run-scoring single in the ninth off Pete Fairbanks, who retired Leody Tavares on a game-ending flyout with two on.
Tampa Bay has a home run and stolen base in each of its first six games, matching Cleveland in 1998 as the only team since 1901 to accomplish the feat.
Yandy Díaz, hitless in his previous 11 at-bats, put the Rays up 1-0 with a third-inning RBI single that deflected off pitcher Andrew Heaney’s glove and into right field.
Heaney (0-1) struck out his first two batters in the fifth before first baseman Jared Walsh was charged with an error for dropping Díaz’s pop fly in shallow right. Heaney was removed after Harold Ramírez’s single on his 90th pitch.
Randy Arozarena hit a two-out, run-scoring single on a 3-2 pitch off Yerry Rodríguez and Paredes drove the next pitch into left-field seats.
Heaney allowed three runs — one earned — and four hits over 4 2/3 innings with seven strikeouts in his first start this season.
