Junior Caminero’s Guardians DNA was on display in his quiet contributions to Rays’ Game 4 win

When you think of Junior Caminero, the image in your head is probably one of power and celebration. Whether it be his game-ending homer in LIDOM, one of his majestic blasts in the Home Run Derby or his back-breaking homer against the Guardians in the ALCS, Caminero’s story is usually told by pictures of him letting loose violent swings or throwing his hands in the air in celebration. 

But on Tuesday night, his biggest contribution to the Rays’ season-saving win came in the form of a baserunning feat that should look plenty familiar to Guardians fans. 

Junior Caminero’s baserunning saved the Rays in World Series 

Although Caminero hasn’t been at his best this offseason, he had a golden opportunity to record a signature moment in the bottom of the twelfth inning when he dug into the batter’s box with the Rays down to their final three outs. 

It looked like that moment had passed him by when he hit a chopper to third baseman Joey Ortiz, but he got a new lease on life when Ortiz muffed the throw and Jake Bauers was unable to scoop it. Caminero may have only had a sprint speed of 24.6 feet/second on the play, but his hustling down the line made Ortiz rush the throw. The only problem was that Caminero came up limping after the play. 

But, instead of coming out of the game or taking it easy, he broke immediately on Liam Hicks’ hit to left in the ensuing at-bat and flopped into third base with the tying run. Kevin Cash pulled him after that in favor of Cedric Mullins, who scored on Jonny DeLuca’s game-tying single. The Rays won two batters later on a walk-off from Ben Williamson. 

Caminero taking an extra base there may seem like a no-brainer there considering he held the fate of the Rays season in his hands (or on his feet), but it’s not like he’s an S-tier baserunner. He finished 2026 in the 32nd percentile in sprint speed while also being in the 14th percentile in baserunning run value. Rickey Henderson, he is not. 

But he broke out some excellent baserunning instincts on Hicks’ single, which put the Rays in the driver’s seat in Game 4 and helped save their season. He may not have been with the Guardians long enough to fully soak in the ‘Guards Ball’ mentality, but his baserunning was classic Guards Ball. 

After the game Rays manager Kevin Cash said that Caminero is going to be in the lineup later tonight even if he was on “one leg,” but it’s clear that he’s not 100%. But even if he’s not fully healthy, he’s already had a moment where he put his body on the line to help the Rays stay in the World Series.

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