And the Cincinnati Reds felt the sting of Ramirez on Wednesday night in Progressive Field.
His three-run home run off Emilio Pagan in the eighth inning broke a 2-2 tie and pushed the Guardians to a 5-2 victory.
Ramirez has 38 home runs, 38 doubles and 40 stolen bases. Besides the home run, he had a triple an a double. He didn’t steal a base, but he stole the game.
After the first 18 Reds made outs, they scored a run in the seventh.
Pagan retired the first two in the eighth, but Steven Kwan and Kyle Manzard singled and Ramirez unloaded.
Reds starter Jakob Junis has to wonder if he has to pray to a baseball god to win a game.
He gave up two runs and four hits over five innings Wednesday. In his last four starts, he has given up only four runs and 11 hits over 22 innings and the Reds have lost all four.
Kwan, back in the lineup after two weeks on the injured list, ripped Junis’ second pitch of the game into the right field seats, his 14th home run.
The Guardians made it 2-0 in the fourth on the Ramirez triple off the right-field fence and a single by Josh Naylor.
The Reds got a first-hand bird’s-eye view of Cleveland’s magnificent bullpen.
It was a Bullpen Day for the Guardians and the first four pitchers were perfection — 18 up and 18 down.
Rookie Andrew Walters started and retired the five batters he faced. Walters has appeared in eight games over seven innings and has not given up a run or a hit.
Erik Sabrowski and he pitched 1 1/3 innings and struck out three.
Up next was Cede Smith and he went 1-2-3 with two strikeouts.
Then it was Eli Morgan and he pitched an inning and struck out two.
That took the game into the seventh inning and the Reds had gone 18 up and 18 down with seven strikeouts.
Then the Guardians imploded with three errors in two innings that enabled the Reds to tie it, 2-2.
It began in the seventh when TJ Friedl ruined the perfect game by dropping a bunt — the first hit and the first Reds baserunner.
Friedl was booed loudly and lustily for breaking up the perfect game with a bunt of pitcher Tim Herrin. Herrin then tried to pick Friedl off and threw wildly for an error that put Friedl on second.
Elly De La Cruz grounded up the middle and second baseman Andres Gimenez made a hurried wild throw past the past first baseman.
De La Cruz was credited with a single and Friedl scored on the throwing error, cutting Cleveland’s lead to 2-1.
The Reds tied it in the eighth when Jake Fraley doubled with one out. Santiago Espinal, 3-for-36, dumped a single to center.
Fraley stopped at third, but when center fielder Lane Thomas bobbled the ball, Fraley continued home with the tying run.
Then Ramirez happened.
Cleveland’s classic closer, Emmanuel Clase, teased the Reds in the ninth by loading the bases with no outs.
He walked Friedl, De La Cruz singled and he walked Tyler Stephenson. Before those two walks, Clase had walked eightg batters all year over 72 1/3 innings and never two in one inning.
Then he got serious. Then he bore down. Spencer Steer lined to shortstop. Ty France struck out. Fraley grounded into a force out to end it.
And Clase had his 47th save, a Cleveland record.
About the Author