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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) \u2014 Junior Caminero knows that the All-Star Home Run Derby<\/a><\/span> doesn\u2019t begin for a couple of weeks.<\/p>\n The Tampa Bay slugger is ready to go anyway.<\/p>\n Just hours after committing to participating in the event in Philadelphia on July 13, Caminero homered in his fifth straight game, a three-run shot off the Royals\u2019 Noah Cameron on Tuesday night. It was his eighth in the past seven games \u2014 something nobody in club history has ever accomplished \u2014 and it sent Tampa Bay to a 10-4 rout of Kansas City<\/a><\/span> in the opener of their three-game series.<\/p>\n Asked to put Caminero\u2019s hot streak in perspective, Rays manager Kevin Cash replied: \u201cI don\u2019t know if I can.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s really seeing the ball well,\u201d Cash said, \u201cand when he gets a ball to hit, he\u2019s doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n Caminero, the AL player of the week after launching seven homers and piling up 15 RBIs last week, put on a show last year in the Home Run Derby. With his multicolored bat sending social media ablaze, Caminero advanced to the final round before losing a close contest to Seattle slugger Cal Raleigh<\/a><\/span>. The final was 18-15 in a long-ball hitting showcase that boosted ratings on ESPN<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n Caminero, who turns 23 on Sunday, went on to hit 45 homers last season, finishing sixth in Major League Baseball. <\/p>\n He may beat that number with ease this season. Caminero already has 23 for the AL East-leading Rays.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve feel really comfortable the last two weeks,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m trying to be aggressive in the zone.\u201d<\/p>\n The only other players in Tampa Bay history to have homered in five consecutive games are Jose Canseco in 1999, Carlos Pena in 2010 and Mike Zunino in 2021. Pena\u2019s streak extended to six straight games, the franchise record.<\/p>\n Caminero will try to match that against Kansas City on Wednesday night.<\/p>\n \u201cI mean, thank God he\u2019s on our team,\u201d Rays pitcher Griffin Jax said with a smile. \u201cThe way he\u2019s doing it with the power and the not chasing and the not whiffing is just so impressive.\u201d<\/p>\n In an era of faster-paced games<\/a><\/span> thanks in part to the implementation of a pitch clock, MLB has decided to eliminate a similar clock from its Home Run Derby this summer. Each hitter will have 20 swings in the first round of this year\u2019s contest. The change coincides with a switch in broadcaster to Netflix<\/a><\/span> from ESPN, which had televised the event since 1994.<\/p>\n Any player who homers on his 20th swing will keep on swinging until he doesn\u2019t connect for home run. The top four hitters advance, with the distance of the longest homer being used as the tiebreaker if necessary.<\/p>\n The way he\u2019s been swinging the bat, Caminero has a good shot at being there at the end.<\/p>\n \u201cHe gets a pitch to hit and he\u2019s not missing,\u201d Rays catcher Nick Fortes said. \u201cI\u2019ve never experienced it so I don\u2019t know how to describe it.\u201d<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n AP MLB: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/mlb<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n