Highly-regarded rookie Junior Caminero hit a three-run homer, and José Caballero drove in four runs to lead the Tampa Bay Rays to an 11-4 victory over the San Diego Padres on Saturday.
Caminero’s home run came off Randy Vásquez (4-7) during a four-run second inning, giving Tampa Bay a 5-2 lead. As baseball’s top-ranked prospect, Caminero has now hit three home runs and has seven RBIs in 17 major league games.
“He’s No. 1 for a reason,” Caballero said. “He’s got so many tools. He’s pretty comfortable (in the spotlight). I can tell you he likes that. He’s having fun with everything, and that’s good for the team.”
Jake Cronenworth hit a two-run homer in the first inning and had three hits for the Padres, who are in second place for the NL wild card. San Diego won the first game of the three-game series 13-5 on Friday night.
Despite the loss, the Padres have a strong record of 27-12 since the All-Star break. “I’d say it’s a pretty good spot,” manager Mike Shildt said.
Shane Baz (2-2) gave up two runs and two hits in five innings. The Rays won for the third time in nine games. Baz missed his previous start due to the flu and lost 11 pounds while he was sick.
“Just finding the fastball command,” Baz said. “Felt like I found it at the end of the first and carried it out there into the second. I think that made a big difference.”
In the fourth inning, after Josh Lowe was intentionally walked to load the bases with two outs, Caballero drove in two runs with a single, and Ben Rortvedt had an RBI single, making the score 8-2.
Caballero also had an RBI single in the first inning and a run-scoring grounder in the eighth inning.
