KANSAS CITY — Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Junior Caminero hit a home run in six consecutive games, culminating in a 425-foot shot off Seth Lugo on July 1, 2026. This achievement makes him the youngest player since at least 1900 to hit a home run in six straight games.

The home run on July 1 was hit to left field against the Kansas City Royals in the first inning and marked Caminero's 24th of the season. He will turn 23 on July 5, 2026. The streak began on June 25 against the Royals, a game in which Caminero hit three home runs and recorded six RBI in a 13-2 victory. He became the seventh player in franchise history to hit three home runs in a single game.

Rays manager Kevin Cash described Caminero as a "Special player doing special things." Caminero hit his 23rd home run of the season off Noah Cameron on June 30 in a 10-4 win against the Royals. Earlier in the streak, on June 28, he hit a solo home run off Merrill Kelly in the bottom of the fifth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Tropicana Field. That home run traveled 463 feet in a 5-1 victory.

Caminero hit a home run in each of three games in a series sweep against the Diamondbacks. Over his last six games leading up to June 29, he hit seven home runs, drove in 15 runs, and maintained an 11-for-22 batting average. In June, he registered nine home runs, 21 RBI, 13 walks, and a 1.058 OPS along with a .323 batting average.

Through June 28, Caminero held a .292 batting average, placing him third in the American League in OPS with a .932 mark and tying him for third in home runs with 22. He also tied for eighth in the league in walks with 47 and was 10th in runs with 52. Caminero announced on June 30 that he would participate in the 2026 All-Star Home Run Derby.

Previously, Caminero hit one home run during a 21-game stretch bridging May and June. In the 20 games he did not hit a home run during that stretch, he had a .297 batting average and reached base safely 36 times. "I am trying to get a pitch that I can hit well," Caminero said. "Right now, I am being selective with (the pitches I swing at)." He added, "I have been working with my leg kick and have been working a lot with (batting coach Chad Mattola) and I have been getting good results."

As of July 1, the Rays had a 49-33 record and led the American League East division, holding a one-game lead over the New York Yankees after the game on June 28. The team had won six straight games leading up to July 1. Caminero, in his fourth season with the Rays, entered the game on July 1 with a .294 batting average and 52 RBI.