Junior Caminero took the American League home run lead on Saturday, driving his 38th of the season for the Tampa Bay Rays and moving one ahead of Yordan Álvarez. The 23-year-old did it in the first inning against Jacob deGrom, and the ball left at 107.5 miles per hour before traveling about 425 feet.
That swing changed the shape of the race immediately. Caminero’s homer left Álvarez with 37, but Álvarez still led the league in batting average and RBIs, keeping him in the Triple Crown chase that has not been completed in Major League Baseball since Miguel Cabrera in 2012. For readers tracking the standings, that means one player now holds the power category while the other still owns the two categories that can finish the job.
The Rays still needed ten innings to beat the Rangers 6-3, and Caminero finished 5-2 with one run scored and one run batted in. After the game, he was at.281 with 38 home runs, 91 RBIs and a.897 OPS, numbers that show how quickly he has turned one long ball into a season-long statement.
Álvarez is still the one to watch because the path to the Triple Crown runs through consistency, not just power. Caminero can keep stacking home runs, but if Álvarez holds his lead in batting average and RBIs, the chase stays alive; if he slips, Saturday’s homer may be remembered as the moment the balance of the American League race shifted for good.
