Turns out, Junior Caminero liked this game-winning-hero role so much, he chose to do it again four games later.
Last Friday, Caminero launched his 40th home run in the bottom of the ninth of a tie game to pull out a 3-2 win over the Astros. Tuesday, he did it again. He hit 41st home run in the bottom of the ninth to pull out a 2-1 win over the Athletics at Tropicana Field.
Caminero now has two walk-offs in his career. And the talk of him perhaps snatching the AL MVP award over Yordan Alvarez is growing louder.
Caminero hit the third pitch he saw into the right field stands. It was the team's fourth straight victory and their sixth in seven games.
Simpson had three hits./KIM HUKARI
The Rays didn't hit much in this one, but they had excellent pitching. Griffin Jax started and threw five innings of two-hit, shutout baseball. The Rays' bullpen of Ty Johnson, Cam Booser, Kevin Kelly and Bryan Baker allowed just one run, that coming on a wild pitch by Johnson.
Baker got the win for the Rays to move to 3-2.
Chandler Simpson had three of the Rays' six hits. He also scored on a passed ball in the second.
The Rays and A's play again tonight at 6:40 at Tropicana Field. Nick Martinez (14-4) will start for the Rays against Brady Basso (1-2).
The game was there for the taking. All the Tampa Bay Bucs had to do was reach out and grab it.
And Baker Mayfield dropped it.
Again and again.
Mayfield, the Bucs' fabulously rich quarterback, fumbled three times in the Bucs' 33-27 loss to Cincinnati in the season opener for both teams Sunday.
The Bucs fumbled four times in all in their loss, never giving themselves a chance to win. Mayfield also threw an interception that was called back because of a penalty.
On the day, Mayfield hit 23 of 28 passes. But he was sacked four times and had the problem with turnovers.
The Bucs didn't show as much improvement as they had hoped. Rookie linebacker Josiah Trotter had 11 tackles, a sack and returned an interception 38 yards for a touchdown.
But the new pass rush sacked Joe Burrow only once (Trotter). The secondary allowed 25 completions in 35 attempts. The defensive line gave up 106 yards rushing. The offensive line struggled throughout the day.
The Rays did get a bit of a break. The rest of the teams in NFC South all lost. New Orleans fell in overtime to Detroit, the Falcons lost to the Steelers and Carolina fell to Chicago.
The Bucs are home on Sunday at 2 p.m. against the Cleveland Browns.
Do you get the feeling that rival general managers can hardly wait for Freddy Peralta to hit free agency?
The move to Tampa Bay has evidently saved Peralta's career. He won his fourth straight game Sunday, improving his record to 9-11.
This time, Peralta threw five innings of no-hit, shutout baseball, leading the Rays to a 14-4 victory over the Houston Astros. It completed the team's 15th sweep, most in the majors.
The Rays have now won six of their last seven games.
After two straight close wins over Houston, which leads the AL West, this was a cakewalk. The Rays hit four home runs -- two by Jonathan Aranda -- to power the win.
Richie Palacios hit a three-run homer in the third. Nick Fortes hit a solo homer in the fifth.
Mesa had three hits./KIM HUKARI
Aranda now has 21 homers.
Victor Mesa Jr. had three hits -- including a two-run triple to lead the Rays. Yandy Diaz, Aranda, Palacios and Nick Madrigal all had two hits.
The Rays' lead in the AL East remains at four games over New York and eight and a half games over Boston.
The Rays are off today and start a three-game series against the Athletics Tuesday at 6:40 p.m. at Tropicana Field. Griffin Jax (7-10) will start for the Rays against Jack Perkins (3-11).
A night after clinching the post-season, the Rays lengthened their lead in the AL East to four games over the New York Yankees. The Rays edged Houston, the leader in the AL West, 3-2.
The Rays have won six of their last eight games.
Saturday's game lacked the drama of Friday's game, when Junior Caminero hit his American League-leading 40th home run in the bottom of the ninth for a 3-1 lead. That set up a massive celebration.
Caminero celebrates his moment./KIM HUKARI
But, no, the Rays weren’t lethargic in their follow up game.
Richie Palacios had a two-run single in the fifth, and Nick Madrigal had a tie-breaking sacrifice fly in the seventh to ljft nthe Rays to their win.
Ian Seymour threw six innings and allowed just two runs to lead the Rays. He struck out 10.
Reliever Tyler Wells (5-2) got the victory. Bryan Baker had his 40th save.
The Rays and Astros close out their series today at 1 p.m. at Tropicana Field. Freddy Peralta (8-11) will start for the Rays against Hayden Wesneski (5-1).
Sunday, 3 a.m. Okay, okay. Michael Van Buren is still behind Byrum Brown as far as miracles in the name of USF goes. But he’s gaining. Van Buren, the new USF quarterback, led the USF Bulls to an improbable comeback Saturday in a 28-24 road win over Army. Van Buren led the Bulls to two […]
Saturday, 4 a.m. The division race can wait until another day. The Tampa Bay Rays are going to the post-season. Junior Caminero hit a dramatic home run — his 40th of the season — lifting the Rays to a 3-1 comeback victory over Houston Friday night at Tropicana Field. It was Caminero’s first-ever walkoff hit. […]
Friday, 4 a.m. At the start, it looked like a cakewalk. Before it was over for the Tampa Bay Rays, it was the trail of tears. When a team loses at this time of the season, it can count on the things that slip through their fingers. That was true of the Rays on Thursday […]
Thursday, 4 a.m. Griffin Jax, it turns out, wants to join in the fun. Jax, the Rays’ starting pitcher for the Tampa Bay Rays, was on a personal trail of tears. He had lost four of his last five games, giving up 19 runs. Thursday night, in a 7-2 win over Atlanta, he returned. Jax […]
Wednesday, 4 a.m. Suddenly, Freddy Peralta looks like a steal. Peralta won his third straight game Tuesday night, shutting down the Atlanta Braves in a 7-1 win at Truist Park. Peralta, whose struggles continued after he was acquired from the New York Mets, seems to have found new footing with the Rays. has given up […]
Monday, 4 a.m. At the worst time imaginable, there is smoke rising from the bullpen of the Tampa Bay Rays. Once again, the Rays struggled to get Texas batters out, leading to an 8-6loss. In four games against the Rangers, the Rays gave up 23 runs. The bullpen gave up 10 of them. The Rays […]
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About Gary Shelton
• No one covers Tampa Bay like Gary Shelton.
• No one has seen as many moments, as many athletes, as many coaches as he has over the last quarter of a century.
• No one has won more awards, including two national Associated Press Sports Editors Best Columnist awards and eight top 10 finishes. He also just received his sixth Sportswriter of the Year award for Florida by the NSSA.
• No one has seen more big events, including 29 Super Bowls, 10 Olympics and 11 Final Fours. Gary still goes into the locker rooms to obtain his stories.
• No one has made you angrier, or laugh louder, or think harder about what he has written.
Now, he begins a website designed to keep him in touch with the readers who have grown up on his words.
