Five home runs and 14 hits. That was the story at Tropicana Field on Friday, as the Tampa Bay Rays powered past the Seattle Mariners 7-2, with Junior Caminero leading the way in a game that was never truly in doubt after the third inning.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SEA | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
| TB | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | X | 7 | 14 | 0 |
Caminero finished 2-for-4 with a home run, 2 RBI and a walk, carrying a .280 average and 28 home runs on the season. He scored the game's first run in the third when Chandler Simpson singled to center to give Tampa Bay the lead it would never relinquish. Caminero then added a two-run homer to right in the seventh, with Jonathan Aranda scoring ahead of him, to push the margin to 6-2. Simpson contributed 3 hits and an RBI of his own, while Aranda also went 3-for-5. Victor Mesa went 3-for-4 with a home run.
The Rays' power display unfolded across the middle innings. Richie Palacios homered to right in the fourth to make it 2-0. In the fifth, Cedric Mullins and Mesa hit back-to-back home runs to right and right-center respectively, sandwiched around a solo shot from Cole Young that briefly cut the deficit. Taylor Walls added a sacrifice fly in the seventh to complete the scoring at 7-2.
Luis Castillo absorbed the loss, falling to 3-8 after allowing 4 runs on 9 hits over 5.0 innings, with 4 strikeouts and a walk on 91 pitches. Seattle's bullpen gave up 3 more runs over the final three innings. Nick Martinez earned his eighth win against two losses, working 5.1 innings and allowing 2 runs on 4 hits, with a 2.65 ERA. Tampa Bay's bullpen covered the final 3.2 innings without allowing a run.
The Rays improved to 55-37 with the victory. Seattle has now dropped four straight, falling to 47-48. Castillo is 5 innings pitched away from 1,500 career innings pitched.