Junior

Caminero

Caminero didn’t drive in any runs in this one, but the slugger came around to score three times in the 6-0 win over the Marlins. Caminero doubled in the first inning and came around to score on an RBI triple by Richie Palacios, and doubled again in the fifth only to later be driven in by Jonathan Aranda. He has now hit safely in seven-straight games and is slashing a ridiculous .500/.636/.833 over that span.

Caminero gave the Rays some life with a colossal 422-foot no-doubter the straightaway center field. It was his 14th big fly of the season and also snapped a 10-game homerless drought for Tampa Bay’s franchise cornerstone.

Caminero extended Tampa Bay’s early lead with 116.8-mph single to left field in the second inning before taking Orioles reliever Cameron Foster deep for a three-run blast in the fifth inning. It was his second consecutive contest with a big fly and his 13th round-tripper of the season. He’s gone deep five times since May 1.

Caminero opened the scoring in the home half of the first inning, walloping a 2-2 sweeper from Eury Pérez for a 372-foot (104.0 mph EV) solo shot. He also drew a walk with the bases loaded in the sixth inning to bring in the Rays’ sixth run. The 22-year-old budding superstar is now hitting .256/.342/.488 with 12 homers and 23 RBI on the season.

Caminero had just an infield single through nine innings before getting an at-bat with two runners on in the tenth. He hit one just shy of a home run, doubling off the top of the left field wall to drive in two runs. Caminero had gone four games without driving in a run before collecting his two RBI in extras. The 22-year-old slugger is hitting .253/.333/.471 with 11 homers, 27 runs scored, and 21 RBI across 192 plate appearances.

The 22-year-old slugger opened the scoring in the top half of the first inning, crushing an 0-2 curveball from Payton Tolle for a 404-foot (105.2 mph EV) solo shot. That would be his only hit in the ballgame. For the season, Caminero is now slashing .252/.339/.497 with 11 long balls and 19 RBI.

Caminero belted a two-run home run off of Ryan Watson in the ninth inning to extend the Tampa Bay lead to four runs. It was his 10th home run of the season, and gives him 18 RBI. Obviously, that’s not the RBI total you were hoping for with double-digit home runs, but the Rays have been hitting him second against right-handed pitching, so we may need to lower our expectations for his RBI totals this season. The power is clearly going to play, even with him no longer playing his home games in a minor league stadium.

Caminero put the second run on the board for the Rays in the bottom of the fourth inning when he sent a Robbie Ray fastball 431 feet into left field to put his team up 2-0 over the Giants. It was the ninth homer of the season for Caminero, who had gone five-straight games without an extra-base hit entering Friday.

Caminero was removed from Tuesday’s game against the Guardians with a right jaw contusion after he fouled a ball off of home plate, and it ricocheted into his jaw. However, after the game, manager Kevin Cash said the exit was precautionary and that turns out to have been the case. We can all breathe a sigh of relief.

It’s an extremely encouraging development after Caminero was lifted from Tuesday’s game with a right jaw contusion. It’s possible the 22-year-old rising star doesn’t wake up feeling awesome and needs to sit out Wednesday’s series finale, but all indications are that he’s managed to avoid serious injury. It’s a massive relief for Tampa Bay, and fantasy managers, after a few scary moments in Cleveland.