The Tampa Bay Rays picked up their sixth win in a row on Tuesday night. They beat the Cleveland Guardians 1-0 and improved to 18-11 on the season. But the final score took a backseat to a scary moment early in the game. Right in the first inning, a normal swing suddenly turned into an accident. A player struck himself in the face, and his teammates watched in shock.

That player was 22-year-old Junior Caminero. The Rays started the first inning with a leadoff double. Then, the young third baseman stepped up to face Cleveland pitcher Tanner Bibee. Bibee threw an 85 mph cutter. Caminero swung, but the ball caught the end of his bat. It bounced hard off home plate and hit Caminero right in the jaw. He somehow stayed in to take the next pitch and ground out, but he had to leave the game right after. The rest of the night went smoothly, but a video of the play shows just how terrifying the hit really was.

“Status alert: Junior Caminero (face) leaves game Tuesday,” wrote Underdog MLB on X.

After the Rays’ leadoff hitter, Simpson, doubled in the top of the first, Junior Caminero took the plate. Tanner’s third pitch to Caminero, a breaking ball, hit the end of his bat, and the foul tip deflected right into his right cheek.

It was a brutal hit that forced the bat out of the Rays’ third baseman’s hand. He was bent over in pain for a few minutes while trainer Joe Benge examined his teeth and neck. Caminero’s braces must have made the blow more painful. Rays’ first baseman Jonathan Aranda described it as ‘a scary moment.’

However, despite a developing bruise on his face, Caminero resumed his at-bat. He was grounded out on the next pitch.

An American League All-Star in the last season, the Dominican is slashing .257/.331/.496 with an .827 OPS in 2026. His eighth and most recent homer came against the Cincinnati Reds in a game the Rays won 6-1.

However, after Caminero went 1-for-4 against the Guardians in the series opener, the slugger had to exit Tuesday’s game midway. Ben Williamson replaced him from the bottom half of the frame.

Hit-by-pitches are a part of baseball that batters just have to deal with. Tuesday’s incident bears a resemblance to Padres’ Jake Cronenworth’s HBP off Yusei Kikuchi’s fastball. Against the Angels, Cronenworth took a face hit from a 97 mph fastball in the fifth inning of the match. The fastball not only sent Cronenworth to the ground, but it took down the Angels’ catcher as well. It was scary, but the Padres’ hitter was able to shake it off and continue.

The verdict was positive for Caminero, as well. After the Rays shut out the Guardians, manager Kevin Cash stated that Caminero is expected to return for the following game.

“He’s OK,” Cash reassured, per MLB.com. “He’s in really good spirits, and I would expect him to be in the lineup tomorrow. That ball really came off the plate hard, and I’m just glad that he’s in a pretty good spot right now.”

Notably, Caminero was not the only victim of HBP on Tuesday. JJ Wetherholt took a blow as well.

JJ Wetherholt’s HBP against the Pirates

The St. Louis Cardinals’ rookie second baseman, JJ Wetherholt, has been pivotal for his team against the Pittsburgh Pirates. As the Cardinals rallied to secure a 4-2 win in the series opener, Wetherholt hit the game-tying homer to center field at PNC Park, after Pedro Pages put their team on the scoreboard.

On Tuesday, the 23-year-old recorded 3 runs in his 3 at-bats alongside a hit and a walk. But it was not a cake walk for the rookie, who has been hitting at .241.

Pirates’ reliever Hunter Barco was pitching at the top of the eighth with one out when Wetherholt took the plate. Barco threw a 94 mph fastball that came way too far inside. Wetherholt tried to pull back, but the ball smashed the knob of his bat and grazed his arm. He quickly shook his hands to walk off the pain.

The Pirates actually challenged the hit-by-pitch call, but the replay showed it clearly got him. The call stood, and the Cardinals went on to win the game 11-7.