TAMPA — Though he’d had hits in each of the past five games, Junior Caminero felt his hands were a little slow as he swung the bat.
He watched video of some winter league at-bats, talked with hitting coach Chad Mottola and teammate Christopher Morel, and made a slight adjustment to their positioning ahead of Tuesday’s 3-1 loss to the Royals.
The change seemed to pay off, as Caminero had a career high-tying three hits, including his team-leading sixth home run, in extending his hitting streak to six games.
“The previous games, I was feeling like I was a little bit behind, but thank God, I was able to make that adjustment,” said Caminero, 21, via team interpreter Eddie Rodriguez.
“(Mottola) told me to just be myself, and that’s what I did. I made the adjustment. And you guys saw the results.”
And heard them, too.
The homer was clocked at 110.6 mph, the hardest by a Ray this season, and an eighth-inning single at 116.5 mph, the highest exit velocity of his career and fourth highest by a Ray in the Statcast era (since 2015).
“I hope he remembers the adjustment,” Rays manager Kevin Cash joked. “Look, he’s going to hit the ball hard. He’s a big, strong kid that has a knack for finding the barrel to it. They adjust daily. There is always something going on. So making an adjustment on a Tuesday. There’s another one probably coming on a Thursday. They go back and forth, and a lot of that is just by conversations hitting in the cage.”
The Rays are pleased with what Caminero, who went 0-for-4 Wednesday, has done thus far. But he will have to keep working at it.
“I feel like the league has pitched him a little differently as we’ve gotten a little deeper into this month heading into the next one,” Cash said, “and I’m confident Junior has answers when those adjustments are needed.”
On slow starts
Though Taj Bradley had solid outing overall Tuesday, allowing only two runs over seven innings, he allowed a first-inning run for the fifth straight game.
Cash said there wasn’t much that could be changed in Bradley’s game prep to address that.
“Fair question,” Cash said. “We’re mindful, (pitching coach Kyle Snyder) certainly has tabs on how guys warm up. When a guy has a brutal warmup session, we’ve seen him go out and dominate. We’ve seen him look electric in the bullpen and have some early-inning struggles.
“So I think it’s more consistency, routine and take what you’ve got on that given day to go out there and compete the best you can.”
Plus, Cash noted: “If we have seven innings (pitched) and two runs given up over the next 100 ball games, we’re going to win a lot.”
Baz ready to roll
In delivering a strong start Friday in San Diego, Shane Baz rebounded well from his previous — and only — rough outing. He goes into Thursday’s matinee against the Royals saying fastball command is the key to success. “I feel like when that’s there I can work in-out, up-down and kind of tunnel other stuff off of that,” he said.
Miscellany
The Rays announced a 21st consecutive sellout at Steinbrenner Field, with a capacity of 10,046. … Kansas City’s Bobby Witt Jr. singled in the first inning to extend his hitting streak to 21 games and made a dazzling play at shortstop . … Rays pitchers have allowed three or fewer runs in five straight games. … The Rays have gone 11 straight games of either scoring four or more runs, or one or none. … The Rays had a brief stay at home after their West Coast trip ended Sunday. They leave after Thursday’s game for a weekend series at the Yankees. … Double-A Montgomery right-hander Owen Wild was named Southern League pitcher of the week.
• • •
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TAMPA — Though he’d had hits in each of the past five games, Junior Caminero felt his hands were a little slow as he swung the bat.
He watched video of some winter league at-bats, talked with hitting coach Chad Mottola and teammate Christopher Morel, and made a slight adjustment to their positioning ahead of Tuesday’s 3-1 loss to the Royals.
The change seemed to pay off, as Caminero had a career high-tying three hits, including his team-leading sixth home run, in extending his hitting streak to six games.
“The previous games, I was feeling like I was a little bit behind, but thank God, I was able to make that adjustment,” said Caminero, 21, via team interpreter Eddie Rodriguez.
“(Mottola) told me to just be myself, and that’s what I did. I made the adjustment. And you guys saw the results.”
And heard them, too.
The homer was clocked at 110.6 mph, the hardest by a Ray this season, and an eighth-inning single at 116.5 mph, the highest exit velocity of his career and fourth highest by a Ray in the Statcast era (since 2015).
“I hope he remembers the adjustment,” Rays manager Kevin Cash joked. “Look, he’s going to hit the ball hard. He’s a big, strong kid that has a knack for finding the barrel to it. They adjust daily. There is always something going on. So making an adjustment on a Tuesday. There’s another one probably coming on a Thursday. They go back and forth, and a lot of that is just by conversations hitting in the cage.”
The Rays are pleased with what Caminero, who went 0-for-4 Wednesday, has done thus far. But he will have to keep working at it.
“I feel like the league has pitched him a little differently as we’ve gotten a little deeper into this month heading into the next one,” Cash said, “and I’m confident Junior has answers when those adjustments are needed.”
On slow starts
Though Taj Bradley had solid outing overall Tuesday, allowing only two runs over seven innings, he allowed a first-inning run for the fifth straight game.
Cash said there wasn’t much that could be changed in Bradley’s game prep to address that.
“Fair question,” Cash said. “We’re mindful, (pitching coach Kyle Snyder) certainly has tabs on how guys warm up. When a guy has a brutal warmup session, we’ve seen him go out and dominate. We’ve seen him look electric in the bullpen and have some early-inning struggles.
“So I think it’s more consistency, routine and take what you’ve got on that given day to go out there and compete the best you can.”
Plus, Cash noted: “If we have seven innings (pitched) and two runs given up over the next 100 ball games, we’re going to win a lot.”
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Baz ready to roll
In delivering a strong start Friday in San Diego, Shane Baz rebounded well from his previous — and only — rough outing. He goes into Thursday’s matinee against the Royals saying fastball command is the key to success. “I feel like when that’s there I can work in-out, up-down and kind of tunnel other stuff off of that,” he said.
Miscellany
The Rays announced a 21st consecutive sellout at Steinbrenner Field, with a capacity of 10,046. … Kansas City’s Bobby Witt Jr. singled in the first inning to extend his hitting streak to 21 games and made a dazzling play at shortstop . … Rays pitchers have allowed three or fewer runs in five straight games. … The Rays have gone 11 straight games of either scoring four or more runs, or one or none. … The Rays had a brief stay at home after their West Coast trip ended Sunday. They leave after Thursday’s game for a weekend series at the Yankees. … Double-A Montgomery right-hander Owen Wild was named Southern League pitcher of the week.
• • •
Sign up for our Sports Today newsletter to get daily updates on the Bucs, Rays, Lightning and college football across Florida.
Every weekday, tune into our Sports Day Tampa Bay podcast to hear reporter Rick Stroud break down the biggest stories in Tampa Bay sports.
Never miss out on the latest with your favorite Tampa Bay sports teams. Follow our coverage on X and Facebook.
