And that is what manager Clint Hurdle saw Tuesday night, as Caminero worked 2 1/3 shutout innings and got all but one of his outs on strikeouts. The six whiffs were a career high, doubling the long reliever's prior max.
"It was another good sign of him heading back in the right direction," Hurdle said of Caminero, who was lights-out over his first dozen appearances (13 strikeouts and .179 opponents average).
Then the lights dimmed, and by mid-June Caminero was in the dark. At the end of a 14-outing stretch during which he allowed 22 hits and 12 runs in 13 innings, pitching coach Ray Searage undertook the task of fixing his delivery.