Junior Caminero hit two home runs to reach the 30-homer mark for the season, Christopher Morel added a go-ahead blast in the seventh inning, and the Tampa Bay Rays held off the Los Angeles Angels 5–4 on Wednesday night at Angel Stadium. The Rays, who entered the game as slight -115 betting favorites, combined power hitting with intense relief pitching to win for just the fourth time in their past 14 games.
Caminero gave Tampa Bay an early lead with a career-long 447-foot homer to center field in the first inning, driving in Yandy Díaz. Two innings later, he connected again for a solo home run, his third two-homer game, pushing his season total to 30. The 21-year-old also reached 101 career RBIs with the performance.
The Angels responded in the bottom of the third when Mike Trout tied the game with a three-run homer, his 20th of the season and 398th of his career. The blast, which also marked his 200th home run at Angel Stadium, made Trout the first player in major league history to hit at least 200 homers and steal 100 bases in a single season.
Nick Fortes gave the Rays a 4–3 lead in the fourth inning with a solo homer, his first hit in five games since being acquired from the Miami Marlins. The Angels knotted the score again in the sixth before Morel, who had been hitless with six strikeouts in the series, delivered a solo home run to left field in the seventh off Ryan Zeferjahn, giving Tampa Bay the decisive lead.
Rays starter Shane Baz struck out nine over four innings, allowing four runs. Garrett Cleavinger earned the win in relief, improving to 1–4, while Pete Fairbanks recorded his 19th save after a scoreless ninth. A critical moment came in the eighth inning when newly acquired reliever Griffin Jax, pitching with the bases loaded and no outs, struck out three consecutive batters to preserve the one-run lead.
Zeferjahn took the loss for Los Angeles, dropping to 6–4. The Angels managed six hits on the night, highlighted by Trout’s milestone homer, but could not capitalize on multiple scoring chances late in the game.
The Rays suffered a setback when center fielder Jonny DeLuca left in the sixth inning with right hamstring tightness after hitting a triple. DeLuca, who had been reinstated from the 60-day injured list on July 25 following a right shoulder strain, is expected to be evaluated further on Thursday.
The win moved Tampa Bay to 60–64 on the season, while Los Angeles fell to 54–63. Both teams have Thursday off before resuming play on Friday. The Rays will travel to Seattle to face the Mariners, with right-hander Drew Rasmussen (9–5, 2.81 ERA) starting against Luis Castillo (8–6, 3.22 ERA). The Angels will head to Detroit, where right-hander Kyle Hendricks (6–8, 4.59 ERA) will face left-hander Tarik Skubal (11–3, 2.18 ERA).
