Junior Caminero apparently has a little Dikembe Mutombo in him. The Tampa Bay Rays brought out the iconic celly of the late NBA great when he robbed Cleveland Guardians outfielder Steven Kwan of a hit in the fifth inning of Tuesday night's Game 2 of the American League Championship Series.
With the Rays leading 3-0 and no man on base, Kwan hit a liner off a 1-1 pitch from Tampa Bay starter Freddy Peralta.
It would have been a hit most of the time, but not in that moment, as Caminero was quick to the ball, making a leaping grab to deny Kwan a hit. The Rays star also added some sauce with a finger wag in a seeming homage to the four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award winner Mutombo, who died in 2024.
Here is that highlight play from Caminero:
Article Continues BelowJunior Caminero hit Steven Kwan with the Dikembe Mutombo finger wag after catching his line drive 😅 pic.twitter.com/QuXxV0VEZB
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) October 14, 2026
Caminero and the Rays are looking to avoid a 2-0 series hole against the Guardians, who stole Game 1 with a 7-3 win on Monday. In that contest, Caminero went 1-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored, but his effort was clearly not enough for the Rays to avoid the upset loss to the surging Guardians.
Still, Tampa Bay remains a dangerous team. After all, Caminero is a top candidate to win the AL Most Valuable Player Award and the Rays are the AL's No. 1 seed in the playoffs, thanks to a 98-win campaign.
Caminero and the Rays reached the ALCS after utterly dismantling the New York Yankees in the AL Division Series, sweeping the Bronx Bombers in three games.

