ST. PETERSBURG — Junior Caminero crushed a 437-foot, three-run homer and flashed Gold Glove defense at third base as the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-1 at Tropicana Field for their third straight victory.
Caminero’s first-inning blast off Zac Gallen — a 111.3 mph rocket off the batter’s eye in center field — was his 20th of the season, putting the 22-year-old on pace for a second straight 40-homer campaign. The shot came a day after he was voted a finalist to start the All-Star Game at third base for the American League.
“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.”
Fellow All-Star candidate Nick Martinez matched Caminero’s dominance on the mound, holding Arizona to one run — a first-inning homer by Geraldo Perdomo — over 5 2/3 innings. Martinez has allowed three runs or fewer in 15 of his 16 starts this season, and his 2.66 ERA is the third-lowest mark among qualified starters in the American League, trailing only the Yankees’ Cam Schlittler (1.62) and teammate Drew Rasmussen (2.62).
“I don’t think he ever gets out of the zone in his mind. It doesn’t matter who’s hitting, what the situation is,” manager Kevin Cash said. “Traffic gets on base, and he does maybe some of his best work.”
Caminero’s defense proved equally electric. With runners on the corners and nobody out in the fourth, he left his feet and extended his left hand to snag a soft liner from Max Kepler that looked destined for an RBI single. “Perdomo absolutely hammered that ball off me, and [Caminero] made that home run not look like a home run,” Martinez said. “He’s obviously very special at the plate and hits the ball hard every time, and man, it’s electric.”
“I think the confidence is definitely flowing in him, just continuing to make him play better,” center fielder Cedric Mullins said. “And we’re feeding off his energy.” Mullins added his own Statcast-projected 433-foot homer off Gallen in the seventh, part of a three-run frame that broke the game open. Yandy Díaz contributed an RBI single that broke a tie with B.J. Upton for sixth-most hits (448) in franchise history, and Jonathan Aranda added an RBI double.
Tampa Bay did not strike out in the game — only the eighth time in franchise history and the first since June 15, 2013. Martinez, who pumped his fists and pointed to teammates after every defensive gem, summed up the clubhouse mood: “As soon as I let go of the ball, I become a fan. So when they make sick plays, I get jacked up for them. They certainly made a bunch of those for me today.”
Cash credited Caminero’s daily defensive work for the highlight-reel plays. “He made some really nice plays,” Cash said. “But Cami works hard on his defense every single day.” The Rays continue their series against Arizona at Tropicana Field this weekend, with both Caminero and Martinez strengthening their cases for the Midsummer Classic in Philadelphia next month.