Junior Caminero's ALCS arrival has the Rays looking like title contenders again

CLEVELAND — Slumps can quickly turn into downward spirals for postseason hitters.

A player goes hitless in three straight games in June, and you can write off the poor performance as just a blip over a 162-game regular season. Struggle for a few days in October, though, and the lack of performance is magnified because the stakes are high and the series are short.

Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Junior Caminero will almost certainly be one of the three finalists announced next month for the American League MVP Award. Yet when he went hitless in 11 at-bats over the first three games of the ALCS, everyone wanted to hit the panic button.

Junior Caminero rips a scorcher for first ALCS hit

Well, everyone except Caminero, his teammates and Rays manager Kevin Cash. In fact, Cash felt good about Caminero in the hours leading up to Game 4 against the Cleveland Guardians on Saturday night.

“I don't think Junior is concerned one bit,” Cash said in his pregame press conference. “He was playing dominoes (Friday) night after the ball game (was postponed) with the guys. I talked to him this morning. He's got the biggest smile in the clubhouse. He's ready to get a bat in his hands.”

A 1-for-5 performance doesn't suggest Caminero is suddenly hot. However, his hit was big, as it sent the Rays to a 7-3 win at Progressive Field and tied the best-of-seven series 2-2. Game 5 is scheduled for Sunday evening.

Caminero ripped a screaming RBI double over leaping third baseman Jose Ramirez in the fifth inning off rookie Daniel Espino to snap a 1-1 tie. And even his outs were loud, as he also hit a ball with a 110.7-mph exit velocity and a 29-degree launch angle that tied just short of the fence.

“I just heard that that ball he hit with that velocity and speed off bat and the angle, it's been a home run at 180 out of 180 times or something similar to that,” Cash said. “But I have a lot of experience in this ballpark and know that it can be a little tricky on the cold nights. Didn't look like there was a ton of wind, but that cool air can knock it down a little bit.”

Cold weather brings out the Rays' hot bats

The night wasn't conducive to hitting, with the temperature at 46 degrees at the start of the game. Yet Caminero and the other two members of the big three in the Rays’ lineup all got untracked.

Designated hitter Yandy Diaz doubled leading off the fourth inning against Foster Griffin and scored on first baseman Jonathan Aranda’s single to pull the Rays into a 1-1 tie. Aranda singled in another run in the seventh to make it 5-1. After the Guardians cut the lead to 5-3, Diaz put the game out of reach in the ninth with a two-run home run off Matt Festa.

Aranda went 0-for-10 in the first three games of the series,, and Diaz went 3-for-13. Diaz also ended a 30-game postseason homer drought that stretched to 2019.

“That's a tough three to get through,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “The first three games felt like we executed really well against those guys, and we just didn't tonight. And they made us pay.”

The trio made opponents pay throughout the regular season, when the Rays won an AL-best 98 games. Caminero hit .276/.360/.554 with 42 home runs while playing in all 162 games, while Diaz had a .293/.359/. 446 slash line and 22 homers in 154 games and Aranda hit .274/.358/.434 with 22 long balls in 155 games.

That Caminero, Diaz and Aranda went 6-for-14 with two home runs and five RBI in Game 4 reassured winning pitcher Nick Martinez, though it wasn't surprising. The performance also set up a return to St. Petersburg for Game 6 on Monday night at Tropicana Field. And it suddenly feels like the Rays have the upper hand in a series that is still tied.

“I feel like it was just a matter of time,” Martinez said. “The more reps they get, it's hard to keep those guys down. Those guys are always working. They're always fighting. I think that's the identity of our team. We're always going to keep fighting. We believe in each other, and it's just a matter of time. And those guys believe it. And it showed tonight.”

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