The Rays looked to make it eight straight against the Sacramento Athletics tonight, as Nick Martinez took the hill for Tampa Bay. Opposite him was 25 year old Mason Barnett, making just his eighth career start at the major league level.
The Rays offense didn’t take long to get things started, as Junior Caminero crushed his 35th homer of the year:
Junior Caminero makes it a 4-way tie atop the league with 35 home runs! pic.twitter.com/SZoVyS74Am
— MLB (@MLB) August 12, 2026That was the second homer in as many games for Caminero. Dating back to August 5, his last three hits have left the yard.
Things stayed put until the top of the third when the Rays scored their third run on a sacrifice fly by *checks notes* Chandler Simpson. It would only take one more inning before the Rays would tack on two more from another unlikely source, as Taylor Walls hit his first home run of 2026:
Taylor Walls has his first home run of the season in his 334th plate appearance! pic.twitter.com/23pElzJCYE
— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) August 12, 2026But Walls’ moment would last long, as Yandy Diaz stole his thunder, mashing his 17th homer on the very next pitch. After an extended slump, it seems as if Diaz has returned to form, as he has now homered in consecutive games, and hit safely eight times in the last three.
The A’s had an answer in the bottom of the fourth, getting themselves on the board in the form of a two run homer off the bat of Lawrence Butler. Brady Basso came in to relieve Barnett. He would pitch a scoreless fifth, but ran in to the absolute buzzsaw in Walls, this time homering from the right side:
Taylor Walls had no homers through his first 96 games this season.
He's hit 2 homers tonight! pic.twitter.com/mAU53ShFqy
Believe it or not, this is the second time in his major league career he has homered from both sides of the plate, the first Ray to achieve this feat twice. Diaz wouldn’t steal his thunder a second time, though.
Victor Mesa, Jr. added to the home run barrage in the seventh, this time off of Elvis Alvarado, for his 10th of the year. Mesa, Jr. has made good on his first run at extended major league playing time, raising his wRC+ to a 106 mark:
Victor Mesa Jr. now has 10 HR with a 107 wRC+ and is playing fantastic defense with 6 OAA. What a joy he's been to watch. pic.twitter.com/OOv4FMRysF
— Running From The OPS (@OPS_BASEBALL) August 12, 2026Walls wasn’t the only Ray of the night to hit his first home run of the season, as Carson Williams wasted no time going deep pinch hitting for Caminero in the eighth, blasting a 420 foot bomb to right center. Hopefully, this is the swing that gets Williams’ bat going.
Carson Williams drills his 1st HR of the season. It traveled 420 FT, and it left the bat at 104.6 MPH. pic.twitter.com/dNiY9ioIaB
— Running From The OPS (@OPS_BASEBALL) August 12, 2026Martinez would go the distance, but not before the A’s scored two more in the bottom of the ninth. For the Rays’ starter, it was just the second complete game of his major league career. Additionally, it was his fourth consecutive start without allowing a walk, and just his third start this year allowing more than three runs.
Tomorrow the Rays go for their ninth win and their third sweep in a row, as ace Drew Rasmussen takes the ball opposite Jack Perkins in a Wednesday matinee.
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