Ramos explains comical reaction to strange home run in Giants’ win over Braves originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Heliot Ramos has shown over the past two months that few MLB hitters can match his opposite-field power. In theory, Truist Park, with its jet stream to right, is the perfect park for the Giants center fielder.
As expected, Ramos went deep in Atlanta on the first night of a big road trip. But he couldn’t quite celebrate.
Ramos’ 11th home run of the season landed in the second row of right-field seats, but he immediately thought it was a foul. His reaction was so funny and unusual that he contacted Atlanta Braves catcher Sean Murphy after he rounded the bases to make sure the other team knew he hadn’t over-celebrated.
“I was looking for a sinker and I hit it, but I thought I hit it wrong. [My] “The helmet was covering where the ball was, so I couldn’t see anything,” Ramos said on NBC Sports Bay Area’s “Giants Postgame Live.” “I thought it was a foul. I told Murphy at home plate that I hoped it didn’t offend him, honestly. I told him I thought it was a foul and he said to me, ‘Yeah, I know.’
“It was so weird. That’s never happened to me before, ever.”
The odd home run was the third of the night for the Giants, who won 5-3 to open their road trip. After pummeling the Los Angeles Dodgers’ pitching last weekend, they kept the momentum going, and not just with their power.
Jorge Soler hit his 10th home run and LaMonte Wade Jr. hit a 442-foot blast that was the longest of his career, if you don’t count a game in Mexico City last year that felt like it was played on the moon. The Giants also worked so many three-ball counts — including six full counts — against Braves pitcher Reynaldo Lopez that the 1.70 ERA man was knocked out of the game in the fifth inning. The 4 1/3-inning outing was the shortest of Lopez’s season.
The Giants have had other positive stretches at the plate this season, but the last few days have been by far the best they’ve looked from one through nine. Mike Yastrzemski returned to the lineup on Tuesday, and while they’re without Wilmer Flores and Thairo Estrada, David Villar and Brett Wisely have been more than adequate fill-ins.
The Giants had 29 hits and 10 walks in two weekend games against the Dodgers, and on Tuesday they reached base 15 more times against one of the league’s best pitching staffs. It was such an all-encompassing performance that the best at-bats may have come from a man who went 0-for-5. Matt Chapman had lineouts at 111 and 108 mph, with center fielder Jarred Kelenic robbing him of a pair of doubles and two RBI.
A month ago — or even on the last road trip — that might have been the story of the night for the Giants. But now they finally seem to have found momentum, winning six of their last eight games. The offense has found its stride, showing the patience that was always there but also the strength that this front office expected after rebuilding the lineup in the offseason.
When manager Bob Melvin was asked which home run he liked best, he smiled at reporters in Atlanta.
“I’m happy with every home run,” he said.
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