KANSAS CITY -- Why wait for Philadelphia?
On the day he committed to the T-Mobile Home Run Derby, Junior Caminero continued his incredible homer binge by going deep for the fifth straight game in the Rays’ 10-4 win over the Royals on Tuesday night at Kauffman Stadium.
Caminero’s historic hot streak has coincided with Tampa Bay’s best stretch in more than a month. Tuesday’s series opener was the Rays’ sixth straight victory, and they have outscored their opponents, 43-13, during the winning streak.
Batting with runners on the corners and none out in the third inning, Caminero hammered an 0-1 fastball from left-hander Noah Cameron and blasted it to left field, just to the left of the fountains at Kauffman Stadium. Caminero’s 23rd home run of the season traveled a Statcast-projected 438 feet.
Caminero’s five-game homer streak is the Rays' longest since Mike Zunino also went deep in five straight from Aug. 11-17, 2021. It’s tied for the longest home run streak at age 22 or younger since at least 1900, with Caminero putting himself in the same company as Ronald Acuña Jr. (2018), Brian McCann (2006) and Jack Clark (1978).
Caminero’s 108.6 mph blast was also the slugger’s eighth homer in his past seven games, the most in a seven-game span at age 22 or younger since at least 1900. Kyle Schwarber is the only player to go deep eight times in any seven-game stretch since 2022, having done so in May.
The all-time record for most consecutive games with a home run is eight, set by the Pirates’ Dale Long in 1956 and eventually matched by Don Mattingly (1987) and Ken Griffey Jr. (1993). The last player to homer in six straight games was Rafael Devers, who accomplished the feat for the Red Sox from May 15-20, 2024.
Six games is also the franchise record for consecutive games with a home run. Carlos Peña put that streak together for the Rays from June 6-12, 2010.
This is turning out to be quite a week for Caminero. On Monday, he was named American League Player of the Week for the incredible performance he put together to finish Tampa Bay’s homestand, including the first three-homer game of his young career. On Tuesday afternoon, he officially announced his participation in a second straight Home Run Derby at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia on July 13, airing live on Netflix.
Not long after that, he learned he was leading Blue Jays rookie Kazuma Okamoto in the first Phase 2 All-Star balloting update in a bid to start his second straight Midsummer Classic at third base for the AL.
“Continue voting. Continue,” Caminero said Tuesday afternoon. “Hopefully, we're starting.
And by the way, he turns 23 years old on Sunday. The homer he hit Tuesday night was the 75th of his career, tied with Joe DiMaggio and Juan Gonzalez for the 22nd-most by a player before his 23rd birthday.
Caminero’s three-run shot was just the start of a big inning for the Rays. Ryan Vilade went deep to left-center on Cameron’s next pitch, the Rays’ first back-to-back homers since Yandy Díaz and Jonathan Aranda against the Angels on May 29. Then came three straight singles from Jonny DeLuca, Chandler Simpson and Ben Williamson, capping a six-run frame.