Daily Dinger is rolling into Wednesday, Sept. 9, with a slate built around power, and Junior Caminero sits near the center of it.
The Rays third baseman is up to 39 home runs on the season, with 31 of those coming against right-handed pitching. That split matters here, because Tampa Bay is lined up against Atlanta right-hander Reynaldo Lopez, a pitcher who has already allowed 10 homers in just over 71 innings this season. Lopez has worked both as a starter and a reliever, and he’s set to make his first appearance since July after giving up four home runs in five starts.
Caminero has been on a tear of his own. Over the last two weeks, he has gone deep four times in 12 games while batting .319 with a .996 OPS. The price is not exactly friendly at +270, but he still stands out as one of the stronger home run options on a 15-game card.
The American League gets most of the attention in this edition, and another AL bat worth a look is Riley Greene. The Tigers outfielder has 19 home runs this season and has come back from the injured list swinging hard.
In seven games since returning, Greene is hitting .333 with three homers, 10 RBIs and seven extra-base hits. For the season, the three-time All-Star is at .277 with an .836 OPS.
Greene has done the bulk of his damage against righties, with 14 homers and an .855 OPS in those matchups, and Wednesday brings him Zebby Matthews. The Twins right-hander has already surrendered 22 home runs in 20 appearances, including a three-homer outing in his last start, and he carries a 4.69 ERA into the series finale. That setup makes Greene a live threat to add to the damage.
Cody Bellinger is another Yankees bat to keep on the radar against a pitcher who has been giving up loud contact all year. Colorado right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano has allowed 27 home runs in 25 appearances and owns a 5.19 ERA after leading the American League in homers allowed in 2025 with Baltimore.
Bellinger has not taken Sugano deep yet, but he has handled him well, going 3-for-6 with a 1.071 OPS in their meetings. Since coming off the injured list, Bellinger has hit .290 with one homer in 15 games, including 14 starts. At nearly 5/1, he’s the kind of long-shot play that fits a Yankee Stadium matchup with the short porch in play.
For a bigger payout, Mickey Gasper deserves a look in the Red Sox-Angels game. Gasper has been especially dangerous against right-handed pitching this season, batting .297 with eight home runs and a .964 OPS. He has homered eight times in 53 games, including 44 starts, and all eight blasts have come over a 19-game stretch in the last four weeks, when he posted a 1.379 OPS.
He is expected to be in the lineup against Ryan Johnson, who has allowed 16 home runs in 18 appearances and comes in with a 5.17 ERA. At +540, Gasper is the type of long shot that can pay off in a hurry.
Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
In Other News...
Yankees Suddenly Face An Infield Decision They Didn't Expect
Jazz Chisholm Jr. gave the Yankees a jolt in the middle of a game against the Rockies when he injured his thumb sliding into second base and had to leave after dealing with numbness. For a club that has already spent plenty of time sorting out its infield mix, the timing makes this more than a minor scare, especially with Aaron Boone saying the team will keep monitoring Chisholm and see whether more testing becomes necessary if the symptoms worsen.
The immediate concern is less about one awkward slide than what it could mean for the alignment around the rest of the roster. If Chisholm needs any time at all, the Yankees may have to adjust on the fly, and Anthony Volpe is among the names that could factor into those decisions as Boone and the front office try to protect the infield without losing too much flexibility. [Read more 🡒]
Yankees Have A Gerrit Cole Concern They Can't Ignore In October
Gerrit Cole is back on the mound for the Yankees after Tommy John surgery, and the early signs have been encouraging enough to keep him squarely in the October conversation. His fastball velocity has held up close to where it was before the injury, which is the kind of baseline the Yankees needed to see as they assess what he can still give them in the stretch run and beyond.
The larger question is whether the stuff behind that fastball will play the same way when the games get tighter and the lineups get deeper. Some of the underlying numbers point to trouble, with harder contact showing up and the breaking pitches not landing with the same bite, which leaves New York with a familiar postseason dilemma: the name on the back of the jersey still carries weight, but the margin for error may not be as wide as it once was. [Read more 🡒]
Yankees Needed Their Supporting Cast As Aaron Judge's Return Took A Turn
Aaron Judges return after 100 days back in the Yankees lineup came with the kind of reminder this club has been living with for weeks: the star can steady the room, but he does not have to carry every night. Judge went hitless in his first game back, yet the Yankees still left with a 5-3 win over the Colorado Rockies, getting the sort of help that has often been necessary when the offense needs a lift.
Cody Bellinger helped set the tone by scoring the first run and adding a double in the eighth inning, while Heliot Ramos delivered the biggest swing with a three-run home run. Aaron Boone also pulled Judge after six innings to keep him protected as he continues ramping up for the postseason, a small but telling sign that the Yankees are trying to balance the return of their centerpiece with the broader need to keep everyone else engaged and ready. [Read more 🡒]