Junior Caminero hit two home runs and Ian Seymour struck out eight over five scoreless innings in his first major league start, lifting the visiting Tampa Bay Rays to a 9-0 victory over the Cleveland Guardians on Monday night.
Cleveland, which took its sixth loss in a row, was shut out for a third straight game for the first time since June 12-14, 1991.
Caminero hit a two-run shot in the fifth and a solo blast in the seventh, giving him 39 on the season. The All-Star third baseman went 4-for-5 with a single, double and four runs.
Seymour (2-0) was magnificent after making his first 12 appearances as a reliever, allowing one hit and one walk in a 67-pitch outing. The left-hander kept the Guardians guessing with his unorthodox delivery and setup on the third base side of the rubber.
Garrett Cleavinger, Bryan Baker and Mason Englert wrapped up the combined two-hitter for the Rays, who won their third game in a row.
Caminero, who has 11 homers in his last 16 games, ranks third in the American League in the category and is tied for third with 94 RBIs. He leads all of baseball with 12 long balls in August.
Yandy Diaz added a solo homer in the seventh to chase Guardians starter Tanner Bibee (9-10), who had his five-game winning streak snapped. Caminero’s second homer and Carson Williams’ two-run double came later in the frame against Tim Herrin and Jakob Junis, respectively.
Brayan Rocchio singled in the third and Gabriel Arias singled in the eighth for Cleveland, which is 1-9 since August 15. The defending AL Central champions are 5 1/2 games out of the final AL wild-card position pending the Seattle Mariners’ result Monday night against the San Diego Padres.
Bibee gave up five runs on eight hits in six-plus innings, striking out three with three walks. The right-hander lost for the first time since July 2 against the Chicago Cubs, but he owns a career-worst 4.73 ERA and has reached double-digit losses for the first time.
Guardians catcher Austin Hedges pitched the ninth and allowed a sacrifice fly to Hunter Feduccia.
