Junior Caminero homers again in win over M’s

Caminero seemed to be struggling with a foot issue before being lifted for a pinch-runner in the 12th inning Tuesday, but manager Kevin Cash said afterwards that it was nothing that would affect his availability. Caminero is batting third tonight.

He didn’t seem fine, and Caminero himself indicated that there was a foot issue, though he was adamant that he’d play Wednesday. Caminero came up lame while trying to beat out a grounder on Joey Ortiz’s error in the 12th and stayed in to run to third on a single before being replaced by Cedric Mullins.

Williamson has been functioning in a short-side platoon role with nearly all of his starts coming against left-handers, so it’s interesting to see him in there against Brewers’ ace Jacob Misiorowski for Game 1. Here’s the full lineup that manager Kevin Cash will deploy as the Rays look to secure the first World Series title in their franchise’s history: Yandy Díaz (DH), Jonathan Aranda (1B), Chandler Simpson (LF), Junior Caminero (3B), Liam Hicks (C), Jonny DeLuca (CF), Victor Mesa Jr. (RF), Ben Williamson (2B) and Taylor Walls (SS).

The Rays advance to their third-ever trip to the World Series with the win. Caminero took Cade Smith deep off the pole with a runner on, and it gave the 23-year-old slugger his first homer of the postseason after he walloped 42 of them in the regular campaign. He seemed to enjoy it, as it took him nearly 40 seconds to round the bases. Let the kids play. The 23-year-old also singled and walked to improve his playoff OPS to .814 over his nine postseason games. Caminero and the Rays will begin the Fall Classic against the Brewers on Friday, and both organizations will have a chance to win their first-ever championship.

With left-hander Parker Messick on the mound for the Guardians in Game 5, the Rays will change things up with Vilade starting in right field and batting third while Williamson takes over at second base and will bat eighth. Here’s the full lineup that Rays’ skipper Kevin Cash will deploy as the Rays look to take control of the ALCS on Sunday: Yandy Díaz (DH), Jonathan Aranda (1B), Ryan Vilade (RF), Junior Caminero (3B), Chandler Simpson (LF), Jonny DeLuca (CF), Liam Hicks (C), Ben Williamson (2B) and Taylor Walls (SS).

The Rays will utilize the same starting nine that they used in Thursday’s loss in Game 3, but the batting order has changed. Simpson moves up from fifth to third while Junior Caminero slides into the cleanup spot. Here’s the full lineup that the Rays will deploy against Shawn Armstrong and a host of Guardians’ relievers: Yandy Diaz (DH), Jonathan Aranda (1B), Simpson (LF), Junior Caminero (3B), Liam Hicks (C), Victor Mesa Jr. (RF), Jonny DeLuca (CF), Richie Palacios (2B) and Taylor Walls (SS).

It was a tough day for Caminero, who was struck out by Gavin Williams, Daniel Espino, and Cade Smith. The Rays’ third baseman has enjoyed a solid postseason but is just 2-for-11 in the first three games of this series with a 7/1 K/BB ratio. He’ll need to adjust to how the Guardians are pitching him if the Rays have any hope of advancing to the World Series.

Caminero slapped an RBI single into left field to give Tampa Bay an early advantage, but they were unable to hang on in the opener of a best-of-seven series. The big concern for the Rays moving forward is Caminero’s health after he somehow managed to remain in the contest following a massive collision with teammate Jonny DeLuca down the left-field line in the ninth inning. It looked like DeLuca got the worst of it, but the primary point of contact was Caminero’s left shoulder and ribcage. Rays manager Kevin Cash told reporters afterwards that he got the wind knocked out of him and seems to be completely fine. All signs point to Caminero being ready for Tuesday’s Game 2 showdown at Tropicana Field.

Vilade posted an .818 OPS against southpaws during the regular season and will get a chance to face Guardians starter Foster Griffin at Tropicana Field to kick off the best-of-seven showdown. The 27-year-old lefty-masher blasted a solo homer off Yankees ace Max Fried during Tampa Bay’s series-clinching victory last week. Here’s the full lineup: Yandy Díaz (DH), Jonathan Aranda (1B), Junior Caminero (3B), Vilade (LF), Victor Mesa Jr. (RF), Jonny DeLuca (CF), Ben Williamson (2B), Taylor Walls (SS) and Nick Fortes (C).

Rays manager Kevin Cash isn’t making any changes following a series-opening victory where Jonathan Aranda’s solo homer was enough for a nearly-flawless Drew Rasmussen, who took a no-hit bid into the eighth inning. Caminero, who is likely to finish near the top of AL MVP Award balloting, finished a phenomenal regular season with 42 home runs, reaching the lofty 40-homer plateau for the second straight season. Here’s the full lineup: Yandy Díaz (DH), Jonathan Aranda (1B), Junior Caminero (3B), Liam Hicks (C), Chandler Simpson (LF), Victor Mesa Jr. (RF), Jonny DeLuca (CF), Richie Palacios (2B) and Taylor Walls (SS).