Saints’ Jair Camargo keeps showing his pop with homer in 4-3 win against Gwinnett

Power hitters have been long as described as being players who have some pop in their bat.

That phrase doesn’t do justice to what happens when the likes of Saints catcher Jair Camargo gets all of a baseball.

Camargo filled CHS Field with that unmistakable sound on Sunday afternoon with a tape-measure home run that helped propel the Saints to a 4-3 win over the Gwinnett Stripers.

The Saints trailed 3-2 in the sixth inning when Camargo led off the bottom of the inning with a drive to center field that carried over the batter’s eye. The ball traveled an estimated 450 feet. Chris Williams followed with his ninth homer of the season and third in three games to put the Saints in front to stay.

Like Williams, Camargo has had his struggles at the plate this season. He came into the game with a .217 batting average, having gone 1 for 16 in the series.

“It’s been a while,” Camargo said of his sixth home run of the season for the Saints. “I’ve been trying to get my timing back, get my confidence back. I can’t lie, it’s been a little frustrating for me. Obviously, I’ve been in this situation before at this level — at the beginning of the year.

“So, just trying to figure stuff out, trying to have conversations.”

While Camargo didn’t claim to have called his shot, he did say that something clicked on Saturday that made him feel like good things were coming.

“The at-bat that got me going was my last at-bat (which resulted in a walk),” he said. “It was a great at-bat. I was sticking to the plan, trusting the plan, trusting myself. That one gave me a feeling that, ‘OK, this is me.’ So, tomorrow come back and try to do the same in every at-bat.

“It showed up. If you look at my at-bats lately, I’ve been deep in counts, missing fastballs in the middle (of the plate), hitting breaking balls out in front a little bit. I hit that one, now hopefully more is coming.”

Part of Camargo’s struggles have to do with a right forearm strain that kept him on the injured list from May 1 to June 11.

“It’s tough when you have some time off, especially when you have a rhythm,” Camargo said. “I was trying to build it up quick (when he returned), and I had a little setback, too, with something in my calf.

“It wasn’t a big deal, it was more of a day-to-day thing. But it’s tough, especially mentally, when you’re trying to come back. It’s not about swinging in the cages or hitting off a tee. It’s more about game reps. Thank God, I’m starting to have good at-bats.”

The injury occurred just after Camargo returned to the Saints after making his major league debut with the Twins in mid-April.

“It was like a dream come true,” Camargo said of his nine-day stint with the Twins. “As we say in Latin America, once you taste that coffee you want to keep drinking it. The only thing you can do to go up there again is play good baseball and stay healthy.

“I’ve been a healthy guy, and this season I’ve had two injuries. It’s hard mentally, but you just have to ride the wave.”

Briefly

Reliever John Stankiewicz has been called up from Class AA Wichita. The 25-year-old right-hander signed with the Twins organization as an undrafted free agent in 2020 after a career at Fordham. Stankiewicz entered the game in the seventh inning and retired the Stripers in order. … Payton Eeles had an impressive four games after being called up from High-A Cedar Rapids. He batted .429 (3 for 7) and was on base 10 times. Eeles drew four walks and was hit by a pitch three times.

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