The Tampa Bay Rays’ young superstar left it all on the field Wednesday.
Junior Caminero hustled to reach base on a throwing error to lead off the bottom of the 12th inning and came up limping afterward. But instead of being removed from the game, he gutted out a run from first to third on an ensuing single before being replaced by Cedric Mullins.
Mullins scored the game-tying run on a single by Jonny DeLuca, and Ben Williamson proceeded to walk off the Milwaukee Brewers 4-3 with an RBI single, keeping Tampa Bay’s World Series hopes alive.
The Rays now trail the Brewers 3-1 in the best-of-seven Fall Classic.
No team has ever come close to recovering from a 3-0 World Series deficit, and it will be even harder for the Rays if the driving force of their offence has to miss any time.
Caminero laboured as he tried to leg out his ground ball to third base, and was only able to reach when Jake Bauers failed to pick Joey Ortiz’s low throw. The Rays’ 23-year-old phenom then grimaced and appeared to have difficulty walking, but ultimately remained at first.
The decision to leave Caminero in the game didn’t come back to bite Tampa Bay, as he successfully went first to third on a single by Toronto-born catcher Liam Hicks.
However, he appeared to be in even more discomfort after fully exerting himself on the play, and was subsequently removed for Mullins.
Caminero has just one home run, five RBIs and a .717 OPS in his first post-season action since appearing in two wild-card games as a 19-year-old in 2023.
But the star slugger has exceeded the 40-home-run and 100-RBI plateaus for consecutive seasons, and his presence in the Rays lineup would undoubtedly be felt if he has to miss any time.