It was a tough week, and extremely hard to find three things to be positive about. Fortunately, it’s always possible.
Listen. It’s been a rough week. I can’t remember the last time my baseball team won a game (it was Wednesday). With only two wins this week, it seems hard to pull anything positive from the past few days. Alas, I will try.
Ramírez Makes History
José Ramírez tied another franchise record Saturday night with a game-tying home run against the Seattle Mariners in the fifth inning. While he had gone 0-3 against Seattle’s starter George Kirby, he knew he needed to get something going. He had worked the count to 2-2 before he found his perfect pitch. He took a 95.7 mph sinker and hit it 379 feet to right field to tie the game. This was the 123rd game-tying or go-ahead home run of Ramírez’s career, tying him with the legendary Jim Thome to top the Guardians’ record book. This hit also extended his career-high on-base streak to 39 games, although it was sadly snapped on Sunday afternoon.
Hedges Returns
Prior to Friday’s series opener against the Seattle Mariners, catcher Austin Hedges was reinstated from the seven-day Injured List. He was placed on the IL following a hit to the head from Jazz Chisholm’s backswing on June 5th. Having a storied history with concussions, the team didn’t want to take any chances with Hedges having a head injury. This was his fifth time hitting the IL for concussion-related reasons. He’s appeared in just one game since being reinstated, going 0-3 with two strikeouts. While there’s no expectation for him to be MVP, his presence is absolutely needed on this team. Hopefully, his leadership can get the team back on track in the coming weeks.
Much Needed Big Win
The highlight of the week came in Wednesday’s game against the Cincinnati Reds (and former Cleveland manager Terry Francona). A dominant 11-2 win saw contributions from many players, most notably a grand slam from Carlos Santana on the 15-year anniversary of his MLB debut. Starter Logan Allen also had a successful day, going six innings while giving up the only two runs on four hits and striking out six. Rookie Nic Enright took the ball from him, going two innings and giving up just one walk. Emmanuel Clase closed out the huge victory with one inning of work. Six of the nine starters collected a hit, with Lane Thomas and Angel Martínez leading the way with three hits each.