Rays star Junior Caminero leaves win over Guardians early after taking foul ball to the jaw
TL;DR
Junior Caminero of the Tampa Bay Rays left the game against the Cleveland Guardians after being hit in the jaw by a foul ball. He is considered day-to-day with a bruised jaw but is expected to return soon.
Key points
- Junior Caminero left the game after taking a foul ball to the jaw
- He finished his at-bat before being replaced
- Caminero is day-to-day with a bruised jaw
- Manager Kevin Cash expects him to return soon
- Caminero has a .259 batting average with eight home runs this season
Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Junior Caminero left their 1-0 win over the Cleveland Guardians early on Tuesday after he took a ball directly to his jaw.
Caminero fouled a pitch from Cleveland’s Tanner Bibee off the plate in the opening inning of Tuesday’s contest at Progressive Field. The ball hit the plate and bounced right back up to drill Caminero on the right side of his face. He immediately reached up, clearly in a ton of pain, before dropping to the ground behind the plate.
Remarkably, Caminero remained in the game to finish his at-bat, though he grounded out to Bibee. He was then replaced by Ben Williamson. Caminero is now considered day-to-day with a bruised jaw, though manager Kevin Cash doesn’t expect him to be sidelined for long, if at all.
“He's OK,” Cash said, via MLB.com. “He's in really good spirits and I would expect him to be in the lineup tomorrow. That ball really came off the plate hard and I'm just glad that he's in a pretty good spot right now."
Caminero, 22, got his MLB start with the Guardians. He was dealt to the Rays in 2021, and entered Tuesday’s game with a .259 batting average and a team-high eight home runs and 15 RBIs.
Even without Caminero around for most of the contest, Tampa Bay picked up the one-run win after a dominant outing on the mound from Nick Martinez. He allowed just three hits and lasted seven full innings. Jonathan Aranda drove in a run in the fifth, marking his third straight game with an RBI, to get the Rays on the board.
The Rays have now won six straight to get to 18-11 on the season, and are a near-perfect 13-1 against American League opponents this spring. The two teams will wrap up the three-game series on Wednesday afternoon.
Q&A
What happened to Junior Caminero during the game against the Guardians?
Junior Caminero was hit in the jaw by a foul ball during the game, leading to his early exit.
Is Junior Caminero injured and how long will he be out?
Caminero is considered day-to-day with a bruised jaw, but the manager expects him to return soon.
What are Junior Caminero's current stats for the season?
As of the game against the Guardians, Caminero has a .259 batting average, eight home runs, and 15 RBIs.
