Tampa Rays Junior Caminero (center) celebrates his ninth inning walk off home run to defeat the Sacramento A’s at the Tropicana in St Petersburg on Tue Sep 15, 2026 (AP News photo)

Sacramento A’s game wrap:

By Mauricio Segura

A pitcher’s duel kept the Sacramento A’s within reach all night, but the Tampa Bay Rays Junior Caminero needed only one swing in the ninth to erase any hope of a Green and Gold victory, sending the ball into the right-field bleachers. His opposite-field home run off Elvis Alvarado gave Tampa Bay a 2-1 victory and handed the A’s a painful start to their final road trip of the season. It was Caminero’s American League-leading 41st homer and his second game-ending shot in five days.

For most of the game, Jack Perkins gave Sacramento every opportunity to steal one. The right-hander delivered the best start of his major league career, working 6 2/3 innings while allowing four hits, one unearned run and one walk with eight strikeouts. It was a dramatic reversal from his previous meeting with Tampa Bay, when the Rays tagged him for a career-high 12 hits and seven runs over five innings. Perkins began the evening with a 6.53 ERA, but his ability to miss bats had been a season-long strength, with 119 strikeouts in 103 1/3 innings before this outing.

Tampa Bay scratched out the first run in the second without driving it home with a hit. Chandler Simpson doubled to right, moved to third on Richie Palacios’ grounder and scored when a passed ball got away from catcher Jonah Heim. Perkins limited the damage by striking out Jorge Mateo, beginning a long stretch in which Tampa Bay could do little against him.

The A’s had their own problems with Griffin Jax. Alika Williams doubled in the third and Shea Langeliers singled in the fourth, but neither advanced into scoring position. Jax worked five scoreless innings, allowing only those two hits while striking out seven without issuing a walk. He needed just 67 pitches before Tampa Bay turned the game over to its bullpen.

Sacramento finally found an opening against Ty Johnson in the sixth. Henry Bolte singled to left with one out, then Jeff McNeil sent a single into right that pushed Bolte to third. Johnson’s wild pitch did the rest, allowing Bolte to score and McNeil to move to second. Shea Langeliers struck out before Cam Booser replaced Johnson and retired Lawrence Butler, leaving the score tied at 1-1.

Bolte’s contribution continued a productive September. He began the series batting .318 for the month with four homers, seven RBI, 10 walks, 11 runs and six stolen bases, and his 20 steals for the season led American League rookies.

Perkins protected the tie until the seventh. Liam Hicks drew a walk and Simpson collected his third hit of the game, putting two runners aboard with two outs. Luis Medina replaced Perkins and struck out Palacios to strand both. Simpson finished 3-for-3, accounting for half of Tampa Bay’s six hits while raising his batting average to .308.

Medina and Hogan Harris carried the tie through the eighth. The A’s bullpen escaped after Mateo reached on an overturned call and stole second, with Harris retiring Yandy Díaz and striking out Jonathan Aranda. Sacramento then had one final chance in the ninth, but Bryan Baker retired McNeil, Langeliers and Butler in order. Langeliers nearly found grass in left, only for Simpson to make a sliding catch.

That brought Caminero to the plate against Alvarado. After falling behind 0-2, Caminero turned on a 100.4 mph fastball and sent it down the right-field line for a 344-foot homer, ending the game three pitches into the bottom of the ninth.

The series continues with a contrast on the mound as left-hander Brady Basso (1-2, 3.86 ERA, 28 K) gets the ball for the A’s against Tampa Bay right-hander Nick Martinez (14-4, 2.92 ERA, 98 K), with first pitch scheduled for 3:40 p.m. Pacific.

Costa Rican-born Mauricio Segura has been covering sports in the Bay Area since 2001 for a variety of magazines and newspapers, as well as his own publication, Golden Bay Times.

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⚡Craft cocktails? Check.
🔥Game-day bites? Oh yeah.
🏟️Steps from Golden 1 Center? You bet.

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Happy Hour – 4pm-6pm

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