Junior Caminero Hits 7th Home Run in 6 Games

Junior Caminero continued his impressive performance, hitting his 7th home run in the past 6 games for the Tampa Bay Rays in their 5-1 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday afternoon at Tropicana Field. This home run, which marked the fourth consecutive game Caminero went deep, was the longest of his young career, traveling an impressive 463 feet over the center-field fence, beyond the Daiquiri Deck.

According to Statcast, this home run is tied for the fourth-longest in Major League Baseball this season. It also stands as the seventh-longest home run at Tropicana Field since Statcast began tracking batted-ball data in 2015. The only longer home run by a Rays player since 2021 came from Jonathan Aranda, who hit a 467-foot blast in Baltimore exactly a year ago.

Caminero’s remarkable hit capped an excellent homestand for the Rays, who swept the D-backs in three games. Pitcher Drew Rasmussen contributed to the win with six scoreless innings, lowering his ERA to 2.45. The Rays improved to 7-3 during their longest homestand of the season, regained the best record in the American League, and took first place in the AL East, maintaining this momentum into the series finale.

The 22-year-old slugger has been on a sensational streak, becoming the youngest player in Rays history to homer in four consecutive games. During this period, he has hit six home runs, totaling 22 this season after hitting 45 last year. Additionally, only three players aged 22 or younger have managed a longer home run streak since 1900: Ronald Acuña Jr., Brian McCann, and Jack Clark, each with five straight games with a homer.

Caminero’s seven home runs in the last six games are tied for the most by a player aged 22 or younger since 1900, matching legends Bryce Harper, Willie Horton, and Boog Powell.

Although Caminero was kept from hitting another homer in the first inning by D-backs pitcher Merrill Kelly, he put the Rays on the scoreboard with an RBI single. His impressive ability was also showcased when he celebrated teammate Ben Williamson's second home run of the season, rushing out of the dugout with arms raised high in jubilation.