Rays third baseman Junior Caminero agreed yesterday to participate in this year’s Home Run Derby. He celebrated by homering in his fifth straight game. Caminero moved into a tie for third place with Ben Rice on the AL home run leaderboard.
1. Red Sox and Nationals clear the benches
Red Sox first baseman Willson Contreras and Nationals right-hander Cade Cavalli exchanged words during the fourth inning of Tuesday’s matchup (video link via Foul Territory). The incident led to a bench-clearing dustup. Contreras, outfielder Nate Eaton, and right-hander Miles Mikolas were ejected. Red Sox manager Chad Tracy was also tossed, seemingly for arguing that Cavalli should be removed. Cavalli remained in the game and delivered seven strong innings with 13 strikeouts. It’s the second straight day with an ejection for Contreras. He was tossed on Monday after sparring with first base umpire Nic Lentz over a check swing call.
2. Roberts reaches 1,000 wins
It’s our second straight day with a manager hitting the 1,000-win mark. After A.J. Hinch did it on Monday, Dave Roberts followed suit last night. The Dodgers skipper is the fastest manager in league history to win 1,000 games. It wasn’t that close, either. Roberts won 1,000 games in 1,606 tries. The previous record was held by Cap Anson, who needed 1,641 games to get to 1,000 wins (h/t Katie Woo and Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic). Roberts has won three World Series titles in his 11 years at the helm in L.A. “He’s a special person,” shortstop Mookie Betts said. “He is my manager, but I just don’t really see him that way. I see him more as like a baseball dad, to be honest.”
3. Jensen extends hit streak
Royals catcher Carter Jensen led off Tuesday’s matchup against the Rays with a solo homer off Griffin Jax. The blast extended his hit streak to 20 games. The backstop hit .290 with five home runs in June. Jensen wrapped up the month with an .860 OPS. Kansas City moved Jensen back to the leadoff spot at the end of May. After slashing just .198/.272/.309 that month, he turned things around after the lineup adjustment. Jensen has an .853 OPS in 92 at-bats atop the order. He’s been much more productive in the leadoff spot than in the middle of the lineup.
Photo courtesy of Jaiden Tripi, Imagn Images
