Through four games of their final, nine-game homestand of the regular season, the Tampa Bay Rays are doing two things very well: Winning, and relying on superstar hitter and American League MVP candidate Junior Caminero.
Caminero beat the visiting Athletics on Tuesday by rocking his second career walk-off in the past four games and will try to help the Rays win the series Wednesday night in the middle contest of a three-game set in St. Petersburg, Fla.
In a 1-1 game against fireballing right-hander Elvis Alvarado, Caminero lashed a 100 mph fastball on an 0-2 count down the right-field line for home run No. 41, best in the AL, and win No. 91 for East-leading Tampa Bay (91-59), which has won four straight games.
His first career walk-off was Friday off Houston Astros reliever Bryan Abreu, a massive shot that enabled the Rays to clinch a postseason berth.
“He’s the best in the league,” said Chandler Simpson, who went 3-for-3 with a double and a run on Tuesday and is batting .308. “Like, I was expecting him to do that. It’s unbelievable what he can do. I’m just blessed to be on the same team with him.”
Said Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash: “We feel so confident when he’s at the plate, for sure. … He’s coming through in such a huge way for us.”
Wednesday starter Nick Martinez (14-4, 2.92 ERA) is on a good run for the Rays. In posting a 1-0 record in the past two starts, the right-hander has a 2.13 ERA and a crisp 0.71 WHIP.
Over 12 starts and five relief outings against the A’s in his career, Martinez is 5-5 with a 2.90 ERA. He threw a complete game on Aug. 11 in West Sacramento, Calif., against them, allowing four runs on eight hits in a 12-4 victory.
The league announced that teammate Victor Mesa Jr. was the AL Player of the Week for Sept. 8-14 after the outfielder batted .556 with three homers, two doubles, a triple, six RBIs and eight runs. He also stole two bases, walked four times and posted a 1.914 OPS.
Amid a season that has gone awry, the Athletics (61-90) will try to even the series on Wednesday.
Butler is doing his part to lead the charge.
In the AL West club’s series-clinching 8-7 win Sunday over the Seattle Mariners, Butler, 26, pounded his first career walk-off homer and second long ball of the game by taking Andres Munoz deep.
“It’s amazing,” Butler said. “That’s probably the coolest thing I’ve done on the baseball field.”
Butler tormented the M’s in the series by going 5-for-12 with three home runs, a double, six RBIs, three runs and a walk.
“We talked a lot about Lawrence in terms of what he’s done over the last 2 1/2 months,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said. “I think that today was just, like, the icing on the cake for him.”
The left-handed hitter sits at a .228 batting average with 16 homers, 58 RBIs and 10 stolen bases.
Reliever Brady Basso (1-2, 3.86 ERA) will serve as the opener for the A’s on Wednesday but has been going deeper in games. He started and tossed four shutout innings last Wednesday in his team’s 2-0 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.
Matched up last month against Martinez in the latter’s complete game, Basso yielded one run — a solo homer to Taylor Walls — in two innings.
–Field Level Media
