ST. PETERSBURG -- Standing in front of his locker Friday afternoon, Junior Caminero went out of his way to implore Rays fans to show their support in this critical stretch leading into the All-Star break.
“It gives us a lot of energy. It gives us a lot of [desire] to continue to be great ballplayers,” Caminero said through interpreter Kevin Vera. “Because that's what we've done so far this year. We've played really good baseball.”
That is especially true for Caminero, who followed up the first three-homer performance of his Major League career on Thursday with another impressive showing in the Rays’ 6-1 win over the D-backs on Friday night at Tropicana Field.
In the first inning of the series opener, Caminero demolished a three-run homer off Arizona starter Zac Gallen to put the Rays on the board. That was plenty of support for fellow All-Star candidate Nick Martinez, who worked his way out of a couple tight spots as he held the D-backs to just one run on six hits over 5 2/3 innings.
A day after being voted one of two finalists to start the All-Star Game at third base for the American League, Caminero once again showed his incredible power at the plate. His Statcast-projected 437-foot, 111.3 mph shot on Friday was his 20th of the season, putting him on pace for a second straight 40-homer campaign.
After Yandy Díaz walked and Jonathan Aranda was hit by a pitch, Caminero clobbered a high, 2-2 fastball from Gallen off the batter’s eye in center field. Gallen kept the Rays quiet after that, retiring 15 straight hitters and not allowing another run until Cedric Mullins went deep to right-center in the seventh.
If the Rays had their say, Caminero wouldn’t be alone in Philadelphia at the Midsummer Classic next month.
In addition to being one of the Majors’ most beloved teammates, Martinez has put up top-of-the-rotation numbers for Tampa Bay this season. His 2.66 ERA after 16 starts is the third-lowest mark among qualified starters in the AL, trailing only the Yankees’ Cam Schlittler (1.62) and Rays teammate Drew Rasmussen (2.62).
Martinez didn’t necessarily get off to a great start on Friday, allowing a first-inning homer to Geraldo Perdomo followed by a Corbin Carroll triple. But he stranded Carroll at third by retiring the next two batters, breezed through the second and third then worked his way out of another jam in the fourth.
With runners on the corners and nobody out, Martinez calmly retired Nolan Arenado. Max Kepler then slapped a soft liner the other way that looked like it might land for an RBI single. He got some help from Caminero.
The third baseman took a few steps to his right, left his feet and extended his left hand to snag the ball. Three pitches later, Martinez was out of the inning unscathed.
The Rays broke the game open in the seventh thanks to Mullins’ seventh homer of the season and big hits from the rest of their lineup’s “Big Three,” Díaz and Aranda. Díaz smacked an RBI single to right field, breaking a tie with B.J. Upton for sixth-most (448) in franchise history. Aranda immediately delivered a double to center, increasing his team-leading RBI total to 55.