Tampa Bay Rays' Junior Caminero (13) celebrates his two-run home run with Jonathan Aranda, right, during the first inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals in Kansas City, Mo., Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Colin E. Braley)

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Junior Caminero homered in his sixth straight game to match the Tampa Bay record, hitting a two-run shot in the first first inning to help the Rays beat the Kansas City Royals 4-0 on Wednesday night for their seventh victory in a row.

Caminero hit his 24th homer on the first pitch he saw from Seth Lugo (3-6) following Jonathan Aranda’s one-out single. Caminero tied Carlos Peña’s team record set in 2010.

Caminero is two away from tying the major league record of eight set by the Pirates’ Dale Long in 1956 and matched by the Yankees’ Don Mattingly in 1987 and the Mariners’ Ken Griffey Jr. in 1993. Rafael Devers was the last player to homer in six straight games, doing so for the Red Sox in May of 2024.

Shane McClanahan (7-5) limited Kansas City to three hits in six innings, throwing 49 of 69 pitches for strikes. The left-hander got back on track after going 0-3 with a 5.79 ERA in four June starts.

Cole Sulser struck out two in a scoreless seventh. Lawrence native Garrett Cleavinger got two outs in the eighth but left with two runners on base. Kevin Kelly retired Bobby Witt Jr. on a comebacker to end the threat. Kelly allowed the first two batters to reach in the ninth before closing it out for his fourth save.

Lugo (3-6) struck out Caminero his next two times up, but Cedric Mullins hit his ninth homer — a two-out shot in the sixth for a 3-0 advantage. Lugo gave up three runs on nine hits with seven strikeouts in six innings.

Mullins drove in the Rays’ final run with a single off Jose Cuas in the eighth.

Tampa Bay is the first AL team to 50 wins and has opened up a 3 1/2-game lead over the Yankees in the AL East.

YOUNG GUNS

Wednesday’s game saw Caminero become the youngest player since at least 1900 to homer in six straight games.

The youngest player before Caminero to homer in six straight games was Griffey Jr., who did it at the age of 23.

The only other players since 1900 to homer in as many as five consecutive games before their 23rd birthday were San Francisco’s Jack Clark in 1978, Atlanta’s Brian McCann in 2006 and Atlanta’s Ronald Acuña Jr. in 2018.

The only other Tampa Bay player ever to go deep in six straight games was Carlos Pena in June 2010, according to Sportradar.

Caminero has eight homers over his last six games. He began this stretch by going deep three times in a 13-2 victory over Kansas City on Thursday.

UP NEXT

Royals RHP Stephen Kolek (4-2, 4.15 ERA) was set to start Thursday in the series finale. The Rays had not announced their starter.