Junior Caminero's 1st Inning Home Run Holds Up, Rays Top Blue Jays 3-1

TAMPA, Fla. — Eleven days ago, Tampa Bay third baseman Junior Caminero hit a ninth-inning grand slam to beat the Toronto Blue Jays, but he hadn't hit another homer since. He's been scuffling a bit lately, so much so that Rays manager Kevin Cash gave him a couple of days off.

But Caminero doesn't take days off. He works on his game, endlessly, and enjoys putting in the extra time. And even at 21 years old, it's a lesson learned.

It paid off in a big way on Saturday night. In the first inning, Caminero hit a three-run homer to left field, driving in Josh Lowe, who had walked, and Brandon Lowe, who had doubled. It was a quick three-run lead, and it turned out to be more than enough for the Rays to post a 3-1 victory over the Blue Jays, their fourth in a row.

"He got a pitch that he could handle (off of Toronto starter Jose Berrios) and came up big for us,'' Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "It ended up today being all we needed, but it doesn't always play like that. I'm happy for Cami for sure. There's no doubt, it's hard (being talked about as a future star). The game is not easy. The most impressive thing about him is his work has not changed in the way he prepares, whether it's in the cage or (batting practice) or taking ground balls. He continues to stay at it.

"He is incredibIy coachable. Hearing (the Rays coaches) talk about it, he's very receptive, he's working, he's understanding more about what pitchers are trying to do to him now maybe more than a year ago. He's trying to make the adjustments with all of that.''

Junior Caminero's 9th homer of the year gets @RaysBaseball off to a fast start 💪 pic.twitter.com/ZbcSfHDwpb
— MLB (@MLB) May 24, 2025

It was Caminero's ninth home run of the season, tying him with Brandon Lowe for the team lead. Caminero also had a big defensive play in the top of the second inning, fielding a hot shot to third off the bat of Nathan Lukes with the bases loaded. He fielded it, and threw to first to end the threat.

Caminero said he flew in his old hitting coach this week, and they did extra work at a batting cage away from Steinbrenner Field. He said they both watched a lot of film from his previous seasons and various levels, and the worked on adjusting hands from not getting too low.

He kept his hands higher, and delivered a big blow early in the game. He also joked that Cash told him he would get a ball up in the air, and Caminero was a good listener.

"Before the game, Cashy told me that I was going to hit one out,'' Caminero said. "I told him I was going to do it. He asked me again and said, 'are you sure?' That's why when I hit the home run, I pointed at him (in the Rays dugout). (He should) tell me that every game.''

The big blast mattered because the Rays only had one more hit the rest of the game. For a change, that was OK. The Rays pitching did its thing, holding Toronto to just one run for the second night in a row.

This was far and away Baz's best start in May. In his other four outings, he was 0-3 and allowed 21 earned runs. He had to work around a few walks, but went 5 2/3 innings and allowed just one run on four hits. Vladimiar Guerrero Jr. tagged him with a sixth inning solo shot for their only run.

Baz and all the Rays starters are good about flushing bad outings and moving on to the next one, and that was certainly the case with this win. He was able to take a deep breath afterward, and enjoy the victory, his fourth of the year but his first since April 25.

"I felt like I made the big pitches when I needed, like in the big at-bats,'' Baz said at his locker after the game. "I'm definitely happy with the way I competed out there. That's one thing that I pride myself in, never giving in. So it was good to get a win.

"It helps (having an early three-run lead) too because you can just attack and not worry about being perfect. It was awesome to get that lead early. The negative thoughts that everybody has, you just can't let them creep in. It's more just about staying in the fight and doing everything you can every day to get better. Just staying in that mindset really helped me a lot.''

The Rays bullpen was terrific. Garrett Cleavinger replaced Baz and got four outs. Cleavinger has only allowed one run in his last 12 appearances dating back to April 20. Manuel Rodriguez pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning, retiring the Jays in order on just nine pitches.

Closer Pete Fairbanks worked around two walks in the ninth to pick up his 10th save of the season, and second in two nights.

"It's nice to turn over the ball to our bullpen,'' Baz said. "You don't care, because you know how good all of our arms are. Our bullpen is so good to hang onto that lead, and I've got a lot of faith in our whole team.''