All-Star Junior Caminero reached the 40-homer, 100-RBI mark, drove in four and doubled in the go-ahead runs as the Tampa Bay Rays won their fifth straight by edging the visiting Seattle Mariners 6-5 on Tuesday night.
In a 4-all game in the seventh, Caminero ripped a double past third base off Gabe Speier (2-2) to plate Chandler Simpson and Yandy Diaz, putting the third baseman at the century mark for RBIs. He finished 3-for-4 with a double.
The Rays (69-69) won for the eighth time in 10 games and inched to within 3 1/2 games of wild card-holding Seattle (73-66).
Starter Drew Rasmussen was bitten by the long ball in his five innings. He surrendered three runs on four hits, three of them home runs, and struck out two without a walk.
Seattle’s Jorge Polanco was 2-for-2 with a solo homer and two walks for the Mariners while Cal Raleigh and Julio Rodriguez belted back-to-back solo shots.
In his shortest start this season, Bryan Woo went five-plus innings and allowed three runs on four hits. He struck out three and walked three.
After routing the Mariners 10-2 Monday, the Rays saw Caminero’s RBI single and a run-scoring fielder’s choice by Josh Lowe get to Woo, who labored through 27 pitches in the first inning.
In a power display in the fourth, the visitors swatted three solo homers to right field. On his ninth pitch faced, Raleigh clubbed his major league-leading 51st homer, while Rodriguez belted the next pitch out to make it 2-all. Polanco gave Seattle its first lead in the series three batters later with a deep ball.
However, Caminero smacked a solo homer leading off the sixth to end Woo’s night, and Tristan Gray added a sacrifice fly for a 4-3 lead.
Seattle’s Cole Young evened it again with a sacrifice fly in the seventh, though reliever Kevin Kelly (1-3) fanned Raleigh with the bases loaded and two outs to set up Caminero’s go-ahead hit.
Griffin Jax loaded the bases without retiring a batter in the ninth, but Garrett Cleavinger came on and retired the next three hitters. Pinch-hitter Mitch Garver did deliver a sacrifice fly, but Cleavinger set down Randy Arozarena and Raleigh to record his second save.
