Junior Caminero’s Historic Home Run Trot Highlights Rays' AL Pennant Clincher

Junior Caminero hit his first career postseason home run off Cade Smith as the Rays secured a 7-3 victory over the Guardians to win the ALCS.

The Tampa Bay Rays clinched the American League pennant on Monday night with a 7-3 victory over the Cleveland Guardians in Game 6 of the ALCS. Junior Caminero broke a 3-1 lead in the seventh inning by hitting a two-run home run off All-Star closer Cade Smith, marking the first time Smith had surrendered a homer on his splitter in his major league career. Caminero’s blast resulted in a 38.7-second home run trot, the longest recorded in the Statcast era since 2015.

After Cleveland cut the deficit to two runs in the eighth, Yandy Diaz hit a two-run home run against reliever Hunter Gaddis to restore a four-run margin. All-Star closer Bryan Baker completed a perfect ninth inning to secure the win. Starting pitcher Freddy Peralta earned ALCS MVP honors after allowing one run over 5⅓ innings. Peralta finished the series with a 0.75 ERA across 12 total innings, a significant turnaround from the 4.99 ERA he held with the New York Mets before being acquired at the trade deadline.

Caminero entered the contest 4-for-20 with 11 strikeouts in the series before his seventh-inning home run ignited the sellout crowd at Tropicana Field. The victory marks the third World Series appearance in Rays franchise history. They are scheduled to face the 103-win Milwaukee Brewers, with Game 1 set for Friday in Milwaukee. This matchup represents the first World Series between two franchises seeking their first championship since 1980.