Just asking. What, exactly, did the Rays get in return when they traded away Jose Caballero?
Oh, Everson Pereira, who lasted a cup of coffee with the Rays?
I guess it's proper to suggest the Rays lost that trade, huh?
Caballero, once a role player with the Rays, launched two home runs Friday night in a 5-1 victory over the Rays at Tropicana Field. It was the Rays' third straight loss.
The Yankees closed to within three games of the Rays in the AL East.
Over the last two games, the Rays have scored one run and had eight hits.
The Yankees, who had lost nine of their previous 10 games, didn't do much, either. They had just three hits -- all home runs. Caballero went deep in the fifth and the eighth. Ben Rice homered in the ninth.
The Rays' only run came when Richie Palacios singled in Chandler Simpson.
Rays' starter Griffin Jax allowed just one hit, a three-run homer for Caballero. He struck out 10.
Again, the strength of the Rays' order struggled. Yandy Diaz, Jonathan Aranda and Junior Caminero went 0-for-12 against the Yankees. Cam Schlittler allowed four hits over eight innings to improve his record to 9-5.
The Rays and Yankees play again tonight at 6:40 at Tropicana Field. The Rays have not announced a starter. Will Warren (7-3) will start for the Yankeees.
Shhh. Once again, the bats of the Tampa Bay Rays are sleeping. Careful, or you might wake them up.
The Rays, who tend to go quiet on the days their Big Three do, lost their second straight game Sunday in a 2-0 defeat at the hands of the Houston Astros at Daikin Field.
Tampa Bay had just four hits in suffering their shutout. Their stars -- Yandy Diaz, Jonathan Aranda and Junior Caminero -- were a combined one-for-11 in the game.
The rest of the Rays struggled, too. The Rays were 0-for-seven with runners in scoring position and struck out nine times against Peter Lambert (7-5).
The Astros two runs came on solo homers by Christian Walker and ex-Ray Isaac Paredes.
Fortunately for the Rays, the Yankees also lost. 6-1, to Minnesota. The Rays continue to have a four-game lead over the Yankees.
The Rays and Yankees start a four-game series tonight at Tropicana Field. Griffin Jax (4-5) will start for the Rays against Cam Schlitter (8-5) at 6:40 p.m.
When a team is riding a winning streak, it always seems rude when a game turns out the wrong way.
But this?
The Rays blew a five-run lead and lost 10-8 to the Houston Astros. Yordan Alvarez homered twice and drove in six runs as the Astros stopped the Rays' nine-game winning streak.
There for a while, it looked like a gimmie putt for the Rays. Junior Caminero homered (as did Richie Palacious and, later in the game, Jonny DeLuca.
But the Rays' pitching didn't hold. Drew Rasmussen, named to the American League All-Star team earlier in the day, struggled. He gave up six hits and five earned runs in five innings. Cole Sulser came in and gave up three more. At the end, Casey Legumina gave up the winning two runs.
Caminero now has 11 home runs in 11 games.
The Rays had a chance to score even more early. However, they left nine men on base and were just two-for-11 with runners in scoring position.
Caminero, DeLuca and Palacios all had two hits.
Caminero was named a starter on the AL All-Star team. Yandy Diaz, Drew Rasmussen and Bryan Baker all made the team.
The Rays continue to lead the Yankees by four games in the AL East.
The Rays play the Astros again today at 3:30 p.m. at Daikin Park. Griffin Jax will start for the Rays against Peter Lambert.
And on today's ongoing Junior News, he's at it again.
These days, what's up with Junior Caminero of the Tampa Bay Rays is a separate category of what's going on with his team. Both are soaring, by the way.
After taking a night off from his home run streak, Caminero homered again in Friday night's 3-1 victory over the Houston Astros.
Caminero hit his 10th home run in 10 games, breaking a 1-1 tie in the seventh inning. It led the Rays to their ninth straight win.
Actually, the hitting star for the Rays on this night was catcher Nick Fortes, who homered in the sixth to give the Rays a lead and then who doubled in an insurance run in the eighth.
Martinez had a strong start./KIM HUKARI
Nick Martinez threw 5 1/3 innings of three-hit, one run baseball. Kevin Kelly got the win with a perfect 1 2/3. Innings. Bryan Baker had his 23rd save.
Last season’s team leader, Pete Fairbanks, had only 27 saves for the entire year.
The Rays managed just five hits against Spencer Arrighetti. The Astros, however, had just three.
The Rays play the Astros again tonight at 7:10 at Daikin Park. Drew Rasmussen (7-4) will start for the Rays against Hunter Brown (1-0).
Caminero hit his 10th home run in 10 games./KIM HUKARI
Friday, 4 a.m. Turns out, the Rays can win without Junior Caminero. It just isn’t as much fun. Caminero had his six-game home run streak stopped Thursday night in a 5-2 victory over Kansas City. It was a rare quiet game by Caminero, who had nine homers in his previous eight games. This season, Caminero […]
Thursday, 4 a.m. Before you ask, yeah, the other guys played pretty well, too. Shane McClanahan threw six innings of three-hit, shutout baseball. Cedric Mullins hit a home run and drove in two runs. Jonathan Arandz had two hits to drive his average up to .294. Taylor Walls had three hits. But, yeah, the kid […]
Wednesday, 4 a.m. Wait. Did you hear the latest about Junior Caminero? Well, he led the Rays to a victory again. He hit another home run, his eighth in the last seven games. He drove in three more runs, giving him 18 in the last seven. He has hit .481 over those seven games. Oh, […]
Monday, 4 a.m. He has outgrown all of the adjectives. Any further descriptions of Junior Caminero seem stale, insufficient. He is the hottest hitter in Major League Baseball, and no one else is second. Yes, Caminero hit another home run Sunday. Of course he did. It was his seventh home run in six games, and […]
Sunday, 4 a.m. Well, look who’s back in first place. The Tampa Bay Rays, in free-fall in recent weeks, have climbed back into the lead in the American League East. They re-passed the New York Yankees by percentage points with a 4-2 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks. Once again, the Rays rode their big three […]
Saturday, 4 a.m. The relentless attack of Junior Caminero isn’t over yet. One day after his three home-run day, Caminero kept it going Friday night at Tropicana Field. Caminero launched a 437-foot home run to lead the Rays to a 6-1 win over Arizona. Caminero, who now has 20 home runs on the season, homered […]
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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.
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