SAN FRANCISCO -- For those in search of evidence that Tyler Glasnow is doing just fine after missing a turn in the rotation -- and then some -- with back spasms, look no further than Christian Bethancourt's glove.

After the Rays' backstop received one particularly nasty fastball from Glasnow, he looked down at his mitt only to find that the webbing was broken where the ball hit the leather.

"He was throwing very hard," Bethancourt said.

Glasnow picked up right where he left off as the Rays thumped the Giants, 10-2, in Monday night's series opener at Oracle Park. Backed by a season-high 18 hits from the Tampa Bay offense, the 29-year-old righty logged a quality start in his first appearance since July 31, allowing a run on three hits and three walks over six innings.

With ace Shane McClanahan out for the remainder of the regular season, the Rays need Glasnow at his best to anchor the rotation more than ever. Entering Monday, Tampa Bay starters had a 4.29 ERA since the All-Star break, with Glasnow owning a 1.67 mark in that span.

A healthy Glasnow will go a long way down the stretch, and Monday's win helped the Rays keep pace with the Orioles in the American League East and gain an additional half-game on Houston for the top AL Wild Card spot.

Glasnow, the reigning American League Pitcher of the Month, was scratched from his Aug. 6 start in Detroit with back spasms. The Rays had initially planned to slot him back into the rotation last Saturday, but they opted to give him a few more days of rest.

"That's kind of the risk/reward of pushing him back, pushing him back," manager Kevin Cash said. "He's just so good. You don't want to miss any time that we have maybe a glimpse of a chance of him pitching, and he was outstanding tonight."

Back like he never left, Glasnow struck out seven and got Giants batters to swing and miss 13 times. His velocity was a tick above his season average, and he maxed out at 98.8 mph when he froze Johan Camargo with a four-seamer to strike out the side in the third inning.

After facing the minimum through four innings, Glasnow's command began to wane, as he walked three and gave up a pair of base hits in his final two frames. The Giants plated one and threatened to add on more in the fifth inning, but Glasnow buckled down and induced a strikeout and a lineout to strand the bases loaded.

"Whenever there's someone in scoring position, you kind of get that extra, like, 'don't-let-them-score' feeling," Glasnow said. "I just felt like I got into a pretty decent rhythm there, after that strikeout, and I felt like the last two hitters, everything was kind of starting to sync up."

Though Glasnow effectively limited the damage, his team wasn't exactly hurting for offense, either, as every member of the starting lineup recorded at least one hit. Harold Ramírez, Curtis Mead and Bethancourt led the way with three apiece.

It was Mead's first career three-hit game, and Bethancourt's trio of knocks included a laser solo shot off Luke Jackson, his first homer since May 20.

Osleivis Basabe, who will get the bulk of playing time at shortstop with Wander Franco on the restricted list, chipped in his first big league RBIs with his two-run single in the fourth that got the scoring started for the Rays.

Rounding out the milestones for Tampa Bay's young players was a Major League debut. Left-hander Jacob Lopez relieved Glasnow and pitched the final three innings, earning the save.

Lopez escaped a bases-loaded jam with an emphatic strikeout of Giants rookie Wade Meckler -- also making his Major League debut -- to end the seventh inning. "I'm happy he swung, because it was a ball," said Lopez, who allowed a run on three hits in his three frames.

"We were all very impressed with his composure, because we probably didn't help him out that much defensively," Cash said. "And that's the last thing you want to do with a young pitcher, is put him in a jam when it's not needed. But he kept his composure, got a big strikeout to end the inning. I think he fed off that the next two innings."