CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Jose Ramirez is the Guardians version of the Energizer bunny.
Although the dynamic third baseman ran more like the roadrunner as he scored from second base on a wild pitch to help the Guardians beat the Nationals 3-2 late Saturday afternoon at Progressive Field.
“I love watching that guy play,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “It's just fun. He plays the right way, plays hard, scoring from second on wild pitches, finding ways to get on base, making great backhand stops on the ninth, you name. It just never ceases to amaze me.”
Here’s the top news and notes from Game 2 with the Nationals.
Beep beep – Ramirez brought back memories of Kenny Lofton at the Kingdome in the 1995 ALCS and Jason Kipnis in the 2016 World Series as he raced around third and headed head first into home in the bottom of the third inning for Cleveland’s third and final run. “I was watching the ball to see if I wanted to see if it was going to go in the dugout, and all of a sudden I see a blur come out of the corner of my eye, and it was Jose,” Vogt said. “I mean, yeah, it was a really cool play.” Vogt wasn’t alone in shock as Ramirez blew by third as the pitch from Nationals starter Mitchell Parker bounced around towards the visitors dugout. “I was on deck during it and I was following the ball the whole time,” DH Kyle Manzardo, who delivered a two-run bloop single in the first inning, said. “So then I turned and saw the catcher throw it and I was like, what the heck? He's about to score and he slid in.” Ramirez, who might have the best baserunning instincts in the game, described what he saw as Nationals catcher Riley Adams tried to chase down the ball at the backstop. “As soon as I saw the ball bouncing there, my reaction was like, I'm going to make it home,” Ramirez said through team interpreter Agustin Rivera. “Once I was about to step on the [third] base, he was still chasing the ball. So that's when I realized I had a chance to make it home.” Ramirez recorded his 16 th multi hit game of the season going 2-4 with two runs scored and he’s hitting .381 since May 20.
Lively outing – Ben Lively picked up his fifth win of the season with a strong 5 2/3 innings of work. Lively held the Nationals to just two runs on five hits with a walk and four strikeouts. “I'm just throwing the ball over the plate, being competitive, just rolling with that,” Lively said.
Watch your step – Guardians rookie right fielder Johnathan Rodriguez lived every player’s nightmare in the top of the fourth. Rodriguez lost his footing and fell on a routine towering fly ball off the bat of Nationals second baseman Luis Garcia Jr., who was credited with a single and ended up at second on the play. Lane Thomas, who walked, went to third. Both runs scored – the first on a groundout and the second on an RBI single from Jesse Winker that cut Cleveland’s lead to 3-2. Fortunately for Rodriguez and the Guardians, Washington got no closer. “There's things that happen that are out of your control, and especially for pitchers,” Vogt said. “Errors are going to happen, mistakes are going to happen, plays behind you are going to happen. That put you in a tougher situation. That's where you have to make better pitches. You just have to bear down and control what you can. And that's make better pitches. And that's exactly what Ben did. He came back, got the weak ground ball and the jam shot single unfortunately gave up two runs, but then held him from there. He didn't let that affect him and he beared down and made pitches when he had to.”
Fry’s my guy – David Fry extended his streak of reaching safely to 19 consecutive games Saturday with a walk and double. Fry is hitting .355 with eight home runs and 27 RBI. Vogt knows he can’t keep Fry out of the lineup and his versatility defensively is helpful. “I don't know what the perfect mix for David is,” Vogt said when asked about the possibility of having Fry catch more. “He's never caught more than 35, 40 games in a season and he's a good catcher and he's proven that and he has the ability to move around, which allows us to get people off their feet when he plays, which allows us to get his bat in the lineup as many ways as possible. And so I don't think we have a formula for where he's going to play, when or often, it's more of let's make the lineup. Where does David fit? Okay, he can play here today. And it's a little more mapped out than that for me, but essentially, he's earned his way into more playing time and we're going to find it.”
Home cookin’ – The Guardians won their ninth straight at Progressive Field in front of a season-high 36,728 fans Saturday. “I think the fans are creating a home field advantage for us. I really do,” Vogt said. “The crowds have been loud. They're into it. We feed off of it. It's fun. When you play in front of a fun atmosphere and they're rooting for you, it gives you more energy. So I think our guys are playing phenomenal and the fans are showing up to support us and it's a combination of that, but it's really about the fans bringing energy to the ballpark.” The AL Central division leaders have seen nearly an 18% increase in attendance to date this season and are averaging 22,261 per game. “It's been fun,” Manzardo said. “I mean, there's tons of people showing up every night kind of packing it out, which I don't know, kind of gives you that home field edge.” It was the fourth sellout, second straight this season. “It's really exciting to see,” Ramirez said through Rivera. “You don't see that often, but I appreciate that. We appreciate the energy and obviously it's really nice to have that support because we actually, we feel and we hope that fans keep showing up the way they have.”
Careful with Kwan – After Steven Kwan went 3-4 in his return from a four-week stint on the injury list due to a hamstring strain, Vogt kept Kwan out of the lineup Saturday, despite the popular outfielder’s jersey giveaway. “He had played the night before and so going two in a row and when you get on base every single time and you're running all over the place, we just want to be smart with him,” Vogt said.
Up next – Series finale against the Nationals Sunday at 1:40 p.m. RHP Carlos Carrasco (2-4, 5.16) vs. RHP Jake Irvin (2-5, 3.43)
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