11 HR in 11 games? AL's starting 3B is on an unreal heater

HOUSTON -- Junior Caminero enjoys putting on a show.

Fans who showed up early for Saturday’s game at Daikin Park got a preview of the fireworks that he would put on display at the plate just after he learned he'd been named a starter for the 2026 All-Star Game.

During batting practice, he launched pitch after pitch toward the train tracks in left field, landing them on the tracks and banging some off the signage just below. Others fell to fans in the Crawford Boxes, making it clear that the 22-year-old was locked in.

“I mean, you see, I put on a show, always,” Caminero said with a smile prior to the Rays' 10-8 loss.

Entering Saturday's game, Caminero had hit 10 homers in his last 10 games, becoming the second-youngest player (22 years, 363 days) in the Modern Era to complete the feat, behind only the Dodgers' Cody Bellinger, who did it in 2017 at 21 years, 342 days.

“He’s killing it right now,” Nick Fortes said after Caminero homered in Friday’s 3-1 win over the Astros. “He’s grinding through it. Every pitch that he gets to hit, it seems like he’s not missing it. It’s pretty fun to watch.

“It’s just a nightly routine at this point.”

In this stretch, which has included a streak of six consecutive games with a homer, Rays manager Kevin Cash has been asked plenty about Caminero’s run at the plate.

On Friday, Cash was asked if he could say anything else about Caminero’s home run barrage.

“Yeah, he could go 11 in 11 games,” Cash said.

Caminero might not have heard his skipper’s challenge, but he still answered the call less than 24 hours later.

On the sixth pitch of his first at-bat against Astros ace Hunter Brown on Saturday, Caminero unloaded on a 3-2 slider, blasting it a Statcast-projected 437 feet and at 107.5 mph. It landed near the train tracks for his 26th homer of the season.

“It’s kind of like must-see TV with his at-bats right now,” Cash said. “He’s coming up and handling a lot of pitches and is ready to go. Whether it’s a fastball or an offspeed pitch, he’s got an answer.”

Caminero, who'll turn 23 on Sunday, is starting to place his name in rarified air with every swing of the bat.

He has hit 11 home runs in his past 11 games dating back to June 23. He is the first player to hit 11 or more homers in 11 games since Kyle Schwarber did it in 2021.

“It feels really good at home plate right now,” Caminero said. “Just continue like that.”

The others on that list: Nelson Cruz (2019), Troy Tulowitzki ('10), Barry Bonds ('01), Sammy Sosa (1998), Mark McGwire ('98), Albert Belle ('95), Doug DeCinces ('82), Mike Schmidt ('76), Frank Howard ('68) and Harmon Killebrew ('62).

With 26 homers entering Sunday, Caminero is five shy of tying the Rays' franchise record of 31 home runs before the All-Star break, set by Jose Canseco in 1999.

“Pumped for Junior; he’s on an incredible run right now,” Cash said.

The Rays have eight games left before the break for Caminero to chase the record.

He will also be competing in the 2026 T-Mobile Home Run Derby, eyeing to make more history by becoming the youngest player to win it.