Junior Caminero hit a home run for the fourth straight game as his Tampa Bay Rays defeated the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks 5-1 on Sunday afternoon in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Caminero’s solo shot in the fifth inning was the longest of his career at 463 feet. He has now gone deep seven times in his last six games, capping off an excellent week with a 3-for-3 performance with 2 RBIs and a walk.
Cedric Mullins and Ben Williamson also had homers for Tampa Bay, who have now won five in a row after completing a weekend sweep of the Diamondbacks.
Drew Rasmussen (7-4) labored through six scoreless innings to earn the win, with 34 of his 99 pitches coming in a marathon third inning. He managed traffic effectively to come through unscathed, stranding a pair of runners in both the third and fourth.
Rasmussen’s opposite number, Merrill Kelly (5-8), lost his fifth consecutive start for Arizona, dating back to June 5, allowing five runs on eight hits over six innings.
Ketel Marte provided the D-backs’ lone run with a solo home run, while Pavin Smith added a double, as they were outhit by Tampa Bay 10-5.
Kelly was under duress from the very start, allowing the first three batters he faced to reach base. Yandy Diaz hit a leadoff single, Jonathan Aranda drew a walk and Caminero opened the scoring with an RBI single.
An inning later, Tampa Bay extended its lead. Mullins launched a 404-foot home run to right field to open the second inning. Then, after Taylor Walls and Nick Fortes hit back-to-back singles with one out, Diaz drove in Walls with a sacrifice fly, increasing the Rays’ lead to 3-0.
Williamson made it five unanswered runs for Tampa Bay when he hit his second home run of 2026 with one out in the sixth.
Marte’s long ball in the eighth inning ensured the Diamondbacks wouldn’t be shut out. Offensive production was an issue for Arizona all weekend, as it managed just four runs across the three games.
There was one sour note for the Rays in the victory, as Aranda saw his 10-game hitting streak come to an end after an 0-for-3 day at the plate.
–Field Level Media
