ST. PETERSBURG — Junior Caminero crushed a 463-foot home run off the concourse above the center-field fence at Tropicana Field on Sunday, capping a historic six-game stretch in which the 22-year-old third baseman hit seven home runs as the Tampa Bay Rays completed a sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks with a 5-1 victory.
The solo shot off D-backs starter Merrill Kelly, clocked at 113.5 mph, is tied for the fourth-longest homer in the Majors this season and ranks as the seventh-longest at Tropicana Field since Statcast began tracking batted-ball data in 2015. It is the Rays’ second-longest homer since 2021, behind only a 467-foot shot hit by Jonathan Aranda in Baltimore exactly a year ago. Asked how far he thought it went, Caminero smiled. “Far,” he said.
“That was the type of ball that made everyone go quiet,” veteran center fielder Cedric Mullins said. “Instead of cheering, we’re all just looking at each other like, ‘Jesus Christ.’ Special kind of power out of him.”
Caminero became the 10th player in team history to homer in at least four straight games, the first since Brandon Lowe in April 2023, and the youngest Ray to ever do so. Only three players his age or younger have had a longer home run streak since at least 1900: Ronald Acuña Jr. in 2018, Brian McCann in 2006 and Jack Clark in 1978, each of whom went deep in five straight games. His seven homers in six games are tied for the most by a hitter age 22 or younger since at least 1900, matching Bryce Harper in 2015, Willie Horton in 1965 and Boog Powell in 1964. Only Carlos Peña, who accomplished the feat from June 6-12, 2010, had previously hit seven homers in a six-game span for Tampa Bay.
“Special player doing special things,” manager Kevin Cash said. “I mean, he came into his own here on this homestand where he’s really seeing the ball well, getting pitches he can handle and not missing them and hitting them a long way.”
Caminero went 3-for-3 with a walk Sunday, including an RBI single in the first inning before uncorking the 463-foot blast in the fifth. His previous longest Major League homer had been a 450-foot shot, and his longest recorded professional homer was a 454-foot missile in LIDOM Serie Final Game 7. He recently opened his stance to better handle inside pitches after a 29-game stretch from May 19-June 22 in which he hit only two homers. Starter Drew Rasmussen, who lowered his ERA to 2.45 with six scoreless innings in the finale, marveled at the adjustment. “I couldn’t imagine being that good at 22. That’s unbelievable,” Rasmussen said. “And he’s out here doing it like nobody’s business. It’s really cool.”
Caminero now has 22 home runs on the season, trailing only Yordan Alvarez and Byron Buxton, each with 25, among American League hitters. The sweep pushed the Rays back into first place in the AL East after a 7-3 homestand capped by five straight wins. “I feel very, very good and comfortable,” Caminero said. “That’s the point, very comfortable.” He told his agent, Rafa Nieves, and Cash last Monday that he would be the AL Player of the Week; over the following six days he batted .500, going 11-for-22 with seven homers and 15 RBIs, including a three-homer performance against the Royals. The league is expected to announce its weekly award Monday.