ST. PETERSBURG -- Decked out in one of Tampa Bay’s throwback Devil Rays uniforms, Junior Caminero jumped up and snagged a fifth-inning liner off the bat of Cleveland’s Steven Kwan. Then, the star third baseman stared back at Kwan and hit him with a Dikembe Mutombo-esque finger wag.
Not today. Not when Caminero and his Rays were looking good, feeling good and playing good.
A late decision to pivot to throwback unis and Caminero’s consistent energy were spark plugs for Tampa Bay in its series-evening 3-1 win in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series on Tuesday night at Tropicana Field. The Rays used a three-run fourth inning and stellar pitching to even the ALCS before heading to Cleveland.
The moment between Caminero and Kwan was a light one between two of MLB’s most fun players, and it didn’t end after Caminero’s GIF-worthy gesture, either.
In the seventh, Kwan ended up on third base after a double by the Guardians’ Chase DeLauter. At that time, he and Caminero had a brief chat about what had happened two innings earlier, when Caminero’s grab on Kwan’s 83.1 mph drive took away a hit.
“He told me, ‘Hey, if I hit it a little bit harder, the ball’s past you,’” Caminero said. “And I said, ‘Yeah, try to hit it harder and I won’t catch it. If you don’t hit it harder, we’ll catch it.’”
As for that finger wag?
“I play like that, you know? I play like that,” Caminero said. “It’s about the game, competing and having fun.”
Caminero’s fire is almost always on display. The 23-year-old two-time All-Star rushes out of the Rays’ dugout to greet teammates when they cross home plate, dishing out hugs and high-fives. He claps his hands regularly.
There’s nobody else quite like him.
“He’s been a spark the whole year,” outfielder Chandler Simpson said. “He’s the head, and we’re the rest of the body. So we just follow his lead, and when he provides great energy, it’s definitely contagious to the rest of the team.”
Perhaps Caminero’s extra confidence and swagger on Tuesday stemmed from the postseason atmosphere. Or, just maybe, it had something to do with the Devil Rays uniform set.
After dropping Game 1 of the ALCS, the Rays made a late swap to their throwback unis for Game 2. The decision -- which stemmed from a suggestion made by team CEO Ken Babby -- came down around 10 a.m. ET, roughly 10 hours before first pitch.
“Ken likes to mix it up and go back and forth,” manager Kevin Cash said, “and I think our players like wearing all the bright colors."
Whatever works. This clearly does.
The Rays went 12-3 when wearing these uniforms during the regular season, accounting for 12.2% of the 98 wins the club racked up en route to capturing the AL East title. Tampa Bay didn’t wear the set during the AL Division Series, when it swept the Yankees in three games.
But this felt like the perfect opportunity for the Rays to throw it back in a must-win situation. The players won’t rule out the good juju as a reason for coming through with a victory.
“I could definitely see it, man,” said a smiling Bryan Baker, who worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his fourth save of the postseason. “I think we had a pretty good record in those this year, and this win was the biggest win of all of them in those unis. I think that, along with a lot of other factors, maybe [these are] some good luck for us.”
Now, the ALCS shifts to Cleveland for Games 3, 4 and 5. While the Rays won’t be wearing these throwbacks in any of those contests, they’ll have an opportunity to again break out the new road uniform set they debuted in September, which also feature a stingray on the jersey.
Tampa Bay is 4-3 in its new road look. However, it wore them for its clinching victory at Yankee Stadium in Game 3 of the ALDS. So, these could provide a boost as well.
But for the Rays, the most important key to success is keeping their confidence high and not wavering from the way they’ve played all season.
“Same thing. No changes,” outfielder Jonny DeLuca said. “We’re going to stay within us and do what we do best.”
And that’s looking good, feeling good and playing good.