By The Tampa Bay Rays ended their four-game series against the Kansas City Royals in emphatic fashion Thursday afternoon, riding the bat of Junior Caminero and a dominant pitching performance in a 13-2 victory at Tropicana Field.
While the final score was lopsided, the game nearly became one of the most memorable in franchise history as the Rays carried a combined no-hitter into the ninth inning before settling for a convincing win and a series split.
Caminero delivered the finest offensive performance of his young career, blasting three home runs and driving in six runs.
The 22-year-old slugger wasted little time making his presence felt, launching a two-run homer in the first inning to give the Rays an early lead.
He struck again with another two-run blast in the fifth before putting an exclamation point on the afternoon with a towering two-run homer in the eighth.
The three-homer performance was the first of Caminero’s major league career and further cemented his emergence as one of the American League’s brightest young power hitters.
The Rays’ offense wasn’t limited to Caminero. Victor Mesa Jr. added a three-run homer during Tampa Bay’s five-run eighth inning, helping the Rays finish with 15 hits.
Jonathan Aranda, Cedric Mullins, Taylor Walls, and the rest of the lineup consistently put pressure on Royals starter Seth Lugo, who struggled through five innings, allowing seven earned runs on seven hits while surrendering all three of Caminero’s first two home runs.
The offense may have stolen the headlines, but Tampa Bay’s pitching staff quietly flirted with history.
Casey Legumina opened the game for the Rays and got Tampa off to a perfect start before left-hander Ian Seymour turned in the best outing of his young career.
Seymour dominated the Royals over 6 2/3 innings of relief, allowing no hits while striking out seven and improving to 4-1 on the season. The Royals hitters had no answers as Seymour mixed his pitches effectively and consistently got ahead in the count.
Mason Englert recorded the final two outs of the eighth inning to preserve the no-hit bid before veteran Craig Kimbrel took the ball in the ninth.
With one out remaining, Royals rookie Carter Jensen spoiled the Rays’ bid for a combined no-hitter by launching a two-run home run into the seats. Kimbrel retired the final two hitters to secure the victory. The late homer however, prevented the Rays from recording what would have been just the second no-hitter in franchise history.
The Rays improved to 45-33 on the season and kept the club firmly in the American League postseason race while salvaging a split of the four-game series with Kansas City.
The Rays will wrap-up their longest home stand of the season against the Arizona Diamondbacks this weekend.
Nick Martinez will start for the Rays Friday Night, with drew Rasmussen starting on Sunday.
Shane McClanahan was scheduled to start Saturday but his turn in the rotation will be skipped this time around.
McClanahan, who missed the previous two seasons with elbow surgery and a nerve issue has seen his ERA increase from a 2.45 just a month ago to 3.30.
