ST. PETERSBURG — Junior Caminero launched his American League-leading 41st home run, a walk-off shot down the right-field line off reliever Elvis Alvarado, to lift the Tampa Bay Rays to a 2-1 victory over the Oakland A’s and keep the club 3 1/2 games ahead of the Yankees in the AL East.
The blast was Caminero’s second walk-off homer in five days, making the 23-year-old the first Rays player to hit multiple walk-off home runs during the same homestand. He clinched Tampa Bay’s first playoff berth since 2023 with the first walk-off Friday night, then delivered again with a swing on a 100.4 mph fastball that sailed over the right-field fence.
“That man’s unbelievable,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “Hopefully, a lot more of that to come. But man, he rises up in the biggest moments for his team and celebrates the heck out of ’em.”
Caminero took a 100.2 mph fastball for a first-pitch strike, fouled off a slider, then rifled the third pitch out of the park. He stared into the Rays’ dugout, walked halfway down the first-base line, and told his teammates to hold their celebration. “Wait for me, my guys. Let me have a little bit of time right here,” Caminero said, smiling. His 40.65-second trip around the bases was the slowest tracked by Statcast on an undisputed homer, according to MLB.com’s Sarah Langs.
Starter Griffin Jax, who pitched five scoreless innings, said the moment captured who Caminero is. “He seems like he’s someone that really thrives off the moment and loves the energy,” Jax said. “Excited to see what he looks like when the whole world’s watching.”
Left fielder Chandler Simpson has seen enough to make his prediction. “I told him two months ago that he was going to win MVP,” Simpson said. “So the fact that he’s continuing to do so, he’s definitely making a strong case, for sure.” Simpson added: “He’s our face. He’s the one that we count on the most, and the fact that he’s stepping up to the plate and he’s performing when the lights are brightest, it means everything, for sure.”
Caminero became the fifth player in franchise history to hit two walk-off homers in the same season, with Brandon Lowe being the last to do it in 2023. Cash, who watched Caminero dominate for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic during spring training, said the moment validated what he saw then. “We need to get him to the postseason. It could be pretty exciting to watch him, because he certainly brightens up the brighter the lights get,” Cash said. “He’s getting some big reps right now heading into October and then certainly postseason baseball, getting these at-bats where there’s a lot on the line. And he’s coming through in such a huge way for us.”
Caminero made clear where his focus lies. “I want to play in October,” he said. “In October, the energy is different and the fans, too. So we’ve got to play in October, and we’re pretty ready right now.” Earlier in the game, he crushed a 107 mph line drive projected to travel 409 feet that was caught just in front of the wall, but the frustration gave way to the walk-off finish. “The plan of God is perfect,” Caminero said. “If I hit the first homer, I’m not hitting the last one.”
The Rays continue their homestand against Oakland with the series set to resume at Tropicana Field as Tampa Bay looks to pad its division lead heading into October.