The Wild Card race in the American League continues to heat up, with the Tampa Bay Rays among those vying for a ticket to the upcoming 2025 MLB playoffs. Tampa Bay bolstered its chances to sneak into the postseason when it escaped with a 6-5 victory on Tuesday against the Seattle Mariners at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa.
The Rays have star third baseman Junior Caminero to thank as well for their huge win over Seattle, as the slugger went off at the plate. Caminero concluded the contest 3-for-4, including a home run, with four RBIs. He put Tampa Bay on the board first with an RBI single in the opening inning.
In the sixth frame, the 22-year-old infielder hit a 390-foot solo shot to tie the score at 3-3. He came through again for the Rays in the seventh inning, recording a two-run double to break a 4-4 tie and put Tampa Bay in front for good.
With his impressive night at the plate, Caminero reached the 100-RBI plateau for the first time in his three seasons in the big leagues.
So far in 2025 season, Caminero is hitting .262 /304/.539.
Junior Caminero drives in two for the lead and reaches the 100-RBI mark! pic.twitter.com/b7sEwJTi1b
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) September 3, 2025
There was never much doubt about Caminero's chances to rake in 100 RBIs before the end of the 2025 season, as he already had 94 runs driven in heading into the second game of the Seattle series. But it was noteworthy nonetheless, especially when considering that he also hit another milestone on his road to his 100th RBI of the year.
His home run against the Mariners was his 40th of the season.
“Junior Caminero turned 22 less than two months ago.”He just became the 2nd player in @RaysBaseball history to hit 40 HR in a season,” MLB's official X (formerly Twitter) account shared.
Carlos Pena still holds the Rays' record for most home runs in a season, as he had 46 dingers back in 2007. That means Caminero has 24 games to rack up six more home runs to tie Pena's record and at least seven more to break it. Brandon Lowe came close in 2021, when he produced 39 home runs.
The Rays are unlikely to win the American League East title, as they are currently 10.5 games out of first place in the division, but they are only 3.5 games behind the final Wild Card spot in the AL.
