Caminero's walk-off homer sends Rays to playoffs. Tickets go on sale this week

The Tampa Bay Rays became the first major league team to secure a postseason spot, beating the Houston Astros 3-1 on Friday night on Junior Caminero's walk-off two-run homer — his 40th homer of the season.

With at least a wild card secured, the Rays can concentrate of the goals of winning the American League East and earning a first-round bye.

The Rays, who have the AL's best record at 88-59, hold a three-game lead over the New York Yankees (85-62) in the division with 15 left to play, including four at Yankee Stadium to begin the final week of the season.

"We want to continue this, but we're going to celebrate the heck out of this tonight," Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash said.

The Rays have led the division for 116 days and held the league's best record for a franchise-record 115 days going into games Saturday and Sunday against the Astros at Tropicana Field.

"Very excited, very impressed and proud and encouraged with this group," Cash said. "It's been pretty consistant all season long how special we thought this group was, and they've just gone out on the field night after night and backed it up."

The Rays announced that tickets for potential wild card and division round games will go on sale to the general public on Wednesday at 10 a.m. Presale for season ticket, new ballpark deposit holders and Rays Insiders begins on Tuesday. Tickets are available on the MLB Ballpark app.

The three-game wild card series in both leagues are scheduled to begin Sept. 29. The top two seeds in each league get a bye.

The division rounds are slated to begin Oct. 3, with the top two seeds in each league hosting the first two games of the best-of-five. The AL Championship Series will start on Oct. 12 and the World Series on Oct. 23.

Caminero’s 417-foot shot to left-center off Bryan Abreu (6-4) sparked a joyous celebration at the plate. The 23-year-old hit 45 homers in 2025, his first full year in the majors, and he joins Aaron Judge as the only active major leaguers with consecutive 40-homer seasons.

"Cammy, to get that accomplished, come through in such a big way, and the way he acted and the team acted afterward was pretty spectacular.," Cash said.

It's Tampa Bay's first playoff berth in three seasons, and the time since the franchise began play in 1998.

“We haven’t made the postseason the last two years, but it feels great to be back,” Caminero said through an interpreter. “It’s just such a great feeling. This group is so special.”

The Rays locked up a postseason spot earlier than any team since the Atlanta Braves did it on Sept. 10, 2023, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Among clubs that were first to secure playoff berths over the previous 10 seasons, only the Chicago Cubs (2016), Boston Red Sox (2018), Los Angeles Dodgers (2020) and New York Yankees (2024) have reached the World Series.

The Milwaukee Brewers, who have the best record in the National League (92-56), also clinched a postseason spot on Friday night.

The Rays' playoff berth is a significant accomplishment considering what the franchise went through last year.

The team was forced to play the 2025 season in Tampa at outdoor Steinbrenner Field after Hurricane Milton ripped the roof off Tropicana Field. But the Rays moved back to the St. Petersburg ballpark this season after repairs were completed.

The hurricane damage also set off a series of events that led to the team being sold to an investment group led by Jacksonville developer Patrick Zalupski. Last month, the group secured public financing to help build a $2.36 billion indoor stadium in Tampa.

"Congrats to the boys!!" Zalupski wrote in a social media post. "Unbelievable effort all season to secure a playoff spot — an incredible accomplishment. Keep Grinding!"

Rays co-owner/CEO Ken Babby posted as well: "Beyond proud of this group and what they continue to do together as a team on the field . Our work continues, but for a moment we celebrate."

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In the ninth and tied at 1-all, Jonathan Aranda doubled off the right-field wall with one out. He was replaced by pinch-runner Jonny DeLuca, and Caminero walked it off on the next pitch.

The Astros scored in the fourth against starter Drew Rasmussen when Isaac Paredes doubled and came home on a grounder by Yainer Diaz. Rasmussen worked seven innings, allowing eight hits. He struck out four and walked none.

“We don't have the opportunity to relax and be satisfied with where we're at," Rasmusser said. "We’ve got to stay focused, and we want to win the AL East. So we’ve got to take care of business every single day.”

WUSF's Rick Mayer contributed to this report.