Updated 1h ago
Why Junior Caminero believes Tampa Bay Rays can end MLB playoff skid
The Tampa Bay Rays host the New York Yankees in Game 1 of the AL Division Series Saturday. Junior Caminero, who finished with 42 home runs, is expected to bat third.
- 42 home runs make Caminero the first Ray with two 40-homer seasons.
- 101 RBIs and a .276/.360/.524 slash line round out his 2026 numbers.
- 79 walks this season, up from 41 in 2025, lifted his on-base percentage to .360.
- The Rays went 23-for-143 (.161) across their last four postseason games.
Why it matters: The Rays have not won a playoff game since Oct. 7, 2021. Their offense went 33 straight postseason innings without scoring — the second-longest such drought in postseason history.
- Caminero started all 162 regular-season games, only the fourth Ray ever to do so.
How 2 sources split on this story
Source landscape
Factuality
High
Mixed
Low
Strong LeftLeftLean LeftCenterLean RightRightStrong Right
Political Bias
Coverage by lean
2 sources · 2 articles · 100% Center coverage
Center coverage, 2 sources: The center frames this as a human-interest story about Caminero's maturation and the Rays' determination to end a damaging postseason pattern.
What’s next: Game 1 is Saturday at Tropicana Field; Caminero said he plans to arrive early.
- A potential Rays-Padres World Series would pit Caminero against Manny Machado, whom he calls his favorite player.
- Can the Rays' offense perform in October after historically struggling in the postseason?
- Will attendance at Tropicana Field rebound after the 2023 wild-card opener drew 19,704, the smallest non-pandemic postseason crowd since 1919?