This story was excerpted from Adam Berry’s Rays Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

ST. PETERSBURG -- As they begin a rematch of the 2020 World Series against the Dodgers this weekend, the Rays have the Majors’ best record, at 37-15. They have reclaimed baseball’s best run differential, at plus-114. They’ve hit more home runs and stolen more bases than any other club. Their starters’ ERA is the best in MLB, too.

Oh, and now they’re getting Tyler Glasnow back. Just in time for a marquee matchup against one of the National League’s best teams, no less.

Glasnow is set to make his season debut Saturday afternoon at Tropicana Field in the second game of a three-game series against the Dodgers, and he’ll do so opposite likely Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw. The two aces squared off in Games 1 and 5 of the 2020 World Series, with Kershaw the winner and Glasnow the loser in both games.

It will be Glasnow’s first appearance in a Major League game since he pitched five electric innings to start Game 2 of the American League Wild Card Series in Cleveland last October. He only pitched three times down the stretch last season after working his way back from Tommy John surgery in 2021, with his workload limited in each outing, and he was sidelined early this spring by a left oblique strain.

“Really excited. It's been a while, just doing the rehab stuff, going and doing all the Minor League stuff again,” Glasnow said earlier this week. “Just glad I'm feeling good and ready to go.”

The Rays are thrilled to have him back in the mix. The last time Glasnow was a mainstay in Tampa Bay’s rotation, he was arguably the AL’s most dominant starting pitcher. In his first 14 starts of the 2021 season, Glasnow posted a 2.66 ERA and 0.93 WHIP with 123 strikeouts and 27 walks in 88 innings.

“There's only one Tyler Glasnow, you know?” Rays starter Zach Eflin said. “He's so special with what he can do with the baseball, and I'm really looking forward to seeing that in person, too. Last time I saw it was in the spring, so I'm really excited to see him go about his business and see what he's like on start day. He's been a lot of fun to watch over the years, too, so I'm really looking forward to it.”

He’ll be a huge addition to a rotation that has lost key starters Jeffrey Springs and Drew Rasmussen but still has ace Shane McClanahan (8-0, 1.97 ERA), Eflin (7-1, 3.17), top prospect Taj Bradley (34 strikeouts, four walks in his first five starts) and lefty Josh Fleming (2.72 ERA in his last nine outings).

“Regardless of the injuries, I think having Tyler Glasnow back -- no matter what -- is important,” said McClanahan, who could team up with Glasnow the next two years to form the best one-two punch in baseball. “The guy's been busting his butt to get back as soon as he can, and we're excited to see what he can do for us -- what we know he can do for us.”

There was only one minor blip during Glasnow’s Minor League rehab assignment: a May 10 outing that he cut short after one inning and 11 pitches because he didn’t feel right on the mound. But he looked healthy and dominant in his last two starts for Triple-A Durham, working four scoreless innings with nine strikeouts on May 16 then pitching six strong innings on 67 pitches last Sunday.

“I think after that, that four-inning one, I was like, 'All right, I feel good again,’” Glasnow said. “I kind of got into, like, that compete mode, not, like, in practice mindset anymore. I'm just going out there, trying to get guys out.”

And how does he feel about joining a team that’s gotten off to such a hot start even without him?

“It’s better to join a team like that than one that's not in motion and doing bad,” he said, smiling. “It just makes it less stressful, I guess, for me just to know that we have so many guys that can come in and just start and do well. I'm glad I can come out and help when I can, but it's good to see everyone playing well even when I'm not there.”