Caminero’s two-run walk-off homer clinches Rays’ 2026 postseason berth

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Junior Caminero hit a two-run walk-off home run in the ninth inning Friday night to give the Tampa Bay Rays a 3-1 victory over the Houston Astros at Tropicana Field and clinch a 2026 postseason berth.

For Caminero, the clinching swing added another marker to a remarkable start to his career. The 23-year-old slugger’s drive was his 40th home run of the season and the first walk-off hit of his major league career, another big moment for a player who hit 45 homers in 2025 in his first full season.

The rally came together quickly. Jonathan Aranda doubled with one out in the bottom of the ninth and gave way to pinch-runner Jonny DeLuca. Astros reliever Bryan Abreu then left a 96.6 mph first-pitch fastball over the plate, and Caminero drove it 417 feet to left-center at 107.2 mph to end it.

“I thought that was the moment right there where I could really, really elevate myself to be a superstar in this game,” Caminero said through an interpreter, according to MLB.com’s game story.

The home run also pushed Caminero, whose full name is Junior Alberto Caminero, into rare company. According to MLB, citing the Elias Sports Bureau, he became the first player in Rays history with multiple 40-homer seasons. The franchise’s only other 40-homer seasons were Carlos Peña’s in 2007 and Caminero’s 45 in 2025. MLB and Elias also said Caminero, at 23 years and 68 days, is the second-youngest player in major league history to reach 40 home runs in two seasons, behind Eddie Mathews in 1954. And his blast made him the 11th player in major league history to hit a walk-off homer on the same day his team clinched a postseason spot.

Tampa Bay got the kind of pitching that kept the game in reach until Caminero’s final swing. Rays starter Drew Rasmussen worked seven innings, allowing eight hits while striking out four and walking none.

Rasmussen said he had a feeling the night would belong to the Rays’ young star.

“In the seventh inning, when I finished, I told Junior that he was going to hit a homer tonight... ‘You’re built for the moment. This is who you are,’” Rasmussen said.

Friday’s finish underscored how quickly Caminero has built his résumé since debuting in the majors on Sept. 23, 2023. Still 23, he now has two 40-homer seasons before his 24th birthday, and this one delivered Tampa Bay into October with a single swing.