ATLANTA - Junior Caminero did not wait long to claim the American League home run lead.
His first-inning drive off A.J. Smith-Shawver traveled 455 feet into the left-field bleachers at Truist Park - No. 39 on the season - and the Tampa Bay Rays never looked back in a 7-1 win over the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday night.
The Associated Press account on ESPN said the blast gave Caminero the AL lead; he finished 2-for-3 with a walk, two runs, and that decisive first swing.
ESPN's box matches the 2-for-3, one-homer, one-RBI line and the walk. Four Rays players went deep: Caminero, Liam Hicks, Yandy Díaz, and Richie Palacios.
A lineup that kept answering
Atlanta scratched across its only run in the first when Drake Baldwin singled home Ronald Acuña Jr. Hicks answered in the third with a two-run homer that scored Caminero and made it 3-1. Victor Mesa Jr., celebrating his 25th birthday, singled home Chandler Simpson later. Díaz added a solo homer in the eighth and Palacios another in the ninth.
Simpson, an Atlanta native, singled, scored, and stole his 40th base of the season in his first game at Truist Park. The AP, citing MLB researcher Sarah Langs, noted he became the first player since Chad Curtis in 1992-93 to steal at least 40 bases in each of his first two seasons.
Freddy Peralta (8-11) handled the rest: six innings, five hits, one run, one walk, two strikeouts. The AP reported he is 3-2 since the Mets traded him at the deadline and has allowed just two runs in his last 18 innings. Kevin Kelly, Cole Sulser, and Bryan Baker finished with scoreless innings.
What the win means in the standings race
Tampa Bay moved to 86-58. Atlanta fell to 85-60. Smith-Shawver (0-2) lasted 3 1/3 innings and allowed four runs, continuing a rough return from Tommy John surgery - 18 runs in 21 innings over five starts this season, per the wire.
Caminero's 455-foot reminder was the first of four Tampa Bay home runs, and it set a tone the Braves never matched. Hicks' two-run shot in the third built the cushion; Díaz and Palacios padded it late. ESPN's box shows Caminero also walking and scoring twice - a complete leadoff-style impact from a middle-of-the-order bat.
Peralta's six innings of one-run ball meant the homers did not have to carry a messy pitcher's duel. The Rays' 86-58 record reflects that balance: power that shows up early and starting pitching that finishes enough outs to keep a bullpen fresh for a long September.
Atlanta entered the night at 85-60 and left having managed a single run. For a Rays club measuring itself against the top of the American League, a road win built on Caminero's league-leading 39th homer is both a statement and a standings update.
Griffin Jax (6-10, 3.82 ERA) starts Wednesday against Reynaldo López (4-3, 3.64), who is scheduled for his first start since July after left knee inflammation. Caminero's .282 average and .536 slugging after the game only underline what the 455-foot reminder already said: when the Rays need a September statement in Atlanta, he is still the swing that starts it.
Sources
https://www.espn.com/mlb/boxscore/_/gameId/401816859
https://www.espn.com/mlb/recap/_/gameId/401816859
https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/gametracker/recap/MLB_20260908_TB@ATL/
