Cleveland. Dominican third baseman Junior Caminero once again made his mark in the Major Leagues by hitting two home runs in the Tampa Bay Rays’ 9-0 victory over the Cleveland Guardians, thus reaching 39 home runs this season and establishing himself as one of the great protagonists of the season.
Caminero first punished opener Tanner Bibee with a two-run homer in the fifth inning, sending the ball 412 feet to center field, according to Statcast projections. Later, in the seventh inning, he returned to the charge against reliever Tim Herrin with a solo shot that surpassed the left field fence, shortly after a 38-minute rain delay.
🔥 SEGUNDO DE LA NOCHE PARA LA MÁXIMA, QUIEN VA RUMBO A LOS 4️⃣5️⃣ 👀🇩🇴
Junior Caminero conectó su cuadrangular número 3️⃣9⃣ de la temporada y el 4️⃣6⃣ de su carrera en MLB.
Con este batazo, se convierte en el DOMINICANO MÁS JOVEN con 39+ HR en una temporada.
With this pair of home runs, the young third baseman surpassed Logan Morrison as the fourth player with the most home runs in a season in Rays history (39). In addition, he tied Cody Bellinger for the fourth-highest figure for a player 21 years old or younger, also matching Carlos Peña‘s mark for the most home runs in the franchise before the end of August.
The Dominican is placed in an elite group: now only Fernando Tatis Jr. (42 HR in 2021) surpasses him as the player born in the Dominican Republic with the most home runs in a season before turning 23 years old.
In total, Caminero closed the day with an offensive line of 5-4, including two home runs, a double and a single, as well as three RBIs.
For his part, Yandy Díaz also shined in his return to Cleveland, connecting a 384-foot home run in the seventh inning against Bibee. With that hit, he reached 22 home runs in the campaign, matching his personal record set in 2023.
Caminero first punished opener Tanner Bibee with a two-run homer in the fifth inning, sending the ball 412 feet to center field, according to Statcast projections. Later, in the seventh inning, he returned to the charge against reliever Tim Herrin with a solo shot that surpassed the left field fence, shortly after a 38-minute rain delay.
