ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Junior Caminero sent the Tampa Bay Rays to the playoffs.
The Rays became the first major league team to secure a postseason spot, beating the Houston Astros 3-1 Friday night on Caminero's game-ending, two-run homer — his 40th of the season.
Tampa Bay (88-59) has held the American League's best record for 115 days this season. The Rays began Friday with a three-game lead over the New York Yankees in the AL East. The next goals for Tampa Bay are securing the division title and then locking up the AL's best record and a first-round playoff bye.
It's the first playoff berth in three seasons for the Rays, who lost both games to Texas in a wild-card series in 2023.
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.
However, among the 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.
See AP’s full MLB coverage here
Tampa Bay Rays' Victor Mesa Jr. reacts after his solo home run off Houston Astros pitcher Ethan Pecko during the fifth inning of a baseball game Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Tampa Bay Rays' Victor Mesa Jr. celebrates his solo home run off Houston Astros pitcher Ethan Pecko with Chandler Simpson (14) during the fifth inning of a baseball game Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
CORON, Philippines (AP) — The fire that gutted a passenger ferry in the Philippines, killing at least 35 people, spread so fast that one man didn't have time to get a life jacket as others stepped on him in panic.
Fifty-four people are still missing since the fire tore through the ferry Wednesday night near southwestern Palawan province. There were 43 survivors. Images provided by the coast guard showed the charred interior of the ship and what appeared to be human remains, ashes and burnt metal, including a car.
“The fire quickly spread. That’s when I dropped to the ground and my back was burned,” Arnulfo Nokki Villanueva recounted in a video broadcast by News5. He said that he jumped from a window. “I wanted to get a life jacket but failed to get one because people were stepping on me. People were in panic.”
Rescuers on Thursday struggled to get inside the vessel because of the heat and smoke, slowing efforts to search for passengers who may have been trapped. On Friday, the death toll rose to 35 as more bodies were recovered.
The ferry sailed from the capital, Manila, and was around 7.4 kilometers (4.5 miles) off the village of Turda near its destination of Coron in Palawan province when the fire was reported. The cause of the fire has not been determined.
“It’s painful to think that your child was asking for help while she was burning alive,” Lira Daco said as she waited at a rescue center in Turda for word about her missing 20-year-old daughter, Cyriel.
“I don’t know how we can find out which one is my child,” she added of the remains found inside the ship. “It’s OK if she just drowned and we can recover her body and give her a proper burial. But now we can’t recognize or hug her.”
According to the manifest, 134 people were onboard, 117 of them passengers and 17 crew. The 53-meter (174-foot) vessel had a capacity to carry 306 passengers and 27 crew. Two passengers listed in the manifest reported to authorities that they failed to board, the coast guard said.
Two of the survivors were tourists from Chile, according to Rachel Conserman, a staffer of the ship’s owner Atienza Interisland Ferries Inc. They are recovering from injuries in a hospital in Coron, she said, adding that no other foreigners were known to have been on the ship.
Coron is a popular tourist destination known for clear blue waters, limestone cliffs and rock formations.
Ferries are frequently used for transport in the Philippine archipelago. Sea accidents are not uncommon due to storms, badly maintained vessels, overcrowding and spotty enforcement of safety regulations, especially in remote provinces.
In 1987, the ferry Dona Paz sank after colliding with a fuel tanker in the central Philippines, killing more than 4,300 people in the world’s deadliest peacetime maritime disaster.
Cerojano reported from Manila, Philippines.
In this handout provided by the Philippine Coast Guard, rescuers transfer the remains of victims of the recent fire on the MV June Aster ferry on Friday Sept. 11, 2026 off Coron, Palawan province, western Philippines. (Philippine Coast Guard via AP)
This photo provided by the Philippine Coast Guard shows people inside damaged ferry MV June Aster off Coron, Palawan province, western Philippines, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, days after it caught fire.(Philippine Coast Guard via AP)
Lira Daco, left, wipes tears beside husband Menandro as they wait for news of their missing daughter in Coron, Palawan province, western Philippines, Friday Sept. 11, 2026, days after the ferry MV June Aster caught fire off Coron. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
This photo provided by the Philippine Coast Guard shows damages on the ferry MV June Aster off Coron, Palawan province, western Philippines, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, days after it caught fire.(Philippine Coast Guard via AP)
People prepare equipment to go out to sea from a pier in Turda, Palawan province, Philippines, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, days after ferry MV June Aster caught fire. (AP Photo/Harly Clark Cachero)
In this photo provided by the Philippine Coast Guard, aerial survey is being conducted around ferry MV June Aster off Palawan province, western Philippines, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, days after it caught fire. (Philippine Coast Guard via AP)
This photo provided by the Philippine Coast Guard shows the ferry MV June Aster off Palawan province, western Philippines, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, days after it caught fire. (Philippine Coast Guard via AP)
In this photo provided by the Philippine Coast Guard, ferry MV June Aster smolders off Palawan province, western Philippines, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, days after it caught fire. (Philippine Coast Guard via AP)
In this photo provided by the Philippine Coast Guard, ferry MV June Aster smolders off Palawan province, western Philippines, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, days after it caught fire. (Philippine Coast Guard via AP)
