KANSAS CITY — Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Junior Caminero blasted a 425-foot, two-run homer off Royals starter Seth Lugo in the first inning Wednesday night, tying the franchise record with a home run in his sixth straight game and powering the Rays to a 4-0 victory at Kauffman Stadium.
The streak matches the mark set by Carlos Peña from June 6-12, 2010, and made Caminero the youngest player since at least 1900 to homer in six consecutive games. Ken Griffey Jr. previously held that distinction at 23 years and 246 days old when he homered in his sixth straight game on July 25, 1993. Caminero turns 23 on Sunday — and his age still won’t match his season home run total, which stands at 24.
“Pretty surprised,” Caminero said. “Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. … When my name stays in that lineup, it’s unbelievable.”
Rays manager Kevin Cash said he is “running out of words” to describe Caminero’s tear. Over his last eight games, Caminero is batting .452 (14-for-31) with nine homers and 20 RBIs — the most home runs in an eight-game span for any player age 22 or younger since at least 1900. Catcher Nick Fortes offered his own assessment: “You just go through stretches where you’re locked in. His ’locked in’ is a lot different than most people’s ’locked in.’ He gets a pitch, and he’s just not missing it.”
Caminero’s defense was equally sharp. He started a pair of double plays and snared a 108.3 mph line drive from Bobby Witt Jr. to end the third inning. “He’s been playing very good defense lately,” Cash said. “Making the routine play and making it look easy.”
The win was the Rays’ seventh straight, matching their longest winning streak of the season and making them the first American League team to reach 50 wins. Cedric Mullins also homered off Lugo in the sixth inning, giving Tampa Bay multiple homers in each of its last six games. Starter Shane McClanahan, pitching for the first time since June 23 as the club manages his workload, delivered six innings on just 69 pitches, allowing three hits with four strikeouts and no walks. McClanahan threw first-pitch strikes to 16 of the 20 batters he faced.
“Probably call him an All-Star, maybe a Home Run Derby champion,” McClanahan said of Caminero. “Junior is the best.”
If Caminero homers again in Thursday night’s series finale at Kauffman Stadium, he would become only the seventh player in major league history to have a seven-game home run streak. The all-time record of eight straight games is shared by Griffey, Don Mattingly (July 8-18, 1987) and Dale Long (May 19-28, 1956). The most recent player to reach seven was Mike Trout from Sept. 4-12, 2022.