SAN FRANCISCO — Bob Melvin has by no means seen a ballgame finish on this style. Neither has Heliot Ramos. Or LaMonte Wade Jr. Or Jordan Hicks.
Ramos and Melvin and Wade and Hicks — and the 1000’s of different souls in attendance at Oracle Park — could very effectively go the remainder of their days with out seeing one other end just like the one which unfolded on Sunday at Oracle Park: a walk-off “Little League home run” on, appropriately sufficient, Little League Day on the yard.
Thanks to 2 throwing errors, Ramos scored on a grounder that didn’t roll previous the mound. The Giants beat the Texas Rangers, 3-2, and logged their fifth walk-off of April within the course of, capping off a stretch of 17 consecutive video games with an exclamation level. San Francisco has received its share of thrillers this season, each in San Francisco and overseas, however Ramos’ mad sprint will dwell on on this ballpark’s lore for many years to come back.
“They’re probably going to put it in the hitter’s meeting just making fun of me,” Ramos mentioned with a smile.
A day faraway from Patrick Bailey’s walk-off single, Ramos stepped to the plate within the backside of the ninth inning with the sport tied at two apiece. The Rangers’ Luke Jackson began Ramos off with a first-pitch slider. Ramos chopped the breaking ball weakly to the third-base facet and sprinted up the road to attempt to beat out a single.
Up up to now, Ramos hadn’t loved his finest all-around recreation. He generated offense within the fourth inning by singling, stealing second and scoring on Christian Koss’ first profession RBI. However Ramos acquired a foul soar on Marcus Semien’s first-inning flare that scored two runs, then was doubled up on the bases within the sixth inning after Adolis García made a spotlight catch.
These miscues can be forgotten because of what occurred over the subsequent 20 seconds.
Ramos sprinted up the road to attempt to beat out a single. Jackson barehanded the ball and made an errant offbalance throw. First baseman Jake Burger dove to cease the ball however to no avail.
The ball rolled up the first-base warning observe and Ramos cruised into second base, assuming the Rangers had already corralled the ball. As he decelerated, he realized the ball remained free and Ramos restarted the burners and took off for third.
If Ramos by no means stopped, he doubtless would’ve made it to 3rd base simply and Burger would’ve by no means made a throw. Ramos’ hesitation offered Burger with a window to report an out. So, he unfurled a throw to 3rd baseman Josh Smith. It was round right here that Ramos blacked out.
“I remember when I got to second,” Ramos mentioned. “After that, I just blacked out and kept running.”
Smith, like Burger himself, dove for the ball however couldn’t glove it. The ball rolled up the third-base warning observe. Jackson, the person who began this sequence, tracked it down, however Ramos was lengthy gone. Ramos may’ve scored standing up; he dove throughout for model.
“He was unaware when he went to second that he could’ve been easily at third,” mentioned supervisor Bob Melvin. “Once he was aware of that, then they had to make the play on him. So, for whatever reason, it all worked out as good as you could.”
Added Wade, the on-deck batter: “That was a first, and it was a good view. It was really funny.”
Hicks, who allowed two runs over 5 innings with three strikeouts, was within the Giants’ clubhouse receiving remedy because the insanity unfolded. Earlier than the play developed on the display screen, he heard the roar of the sellout crowd.
“I just heard everybody yelling and figured that we did something cool,” Hicks mentioned. “Watching it back, pretty wild ending.”
Ramos’ walk-off was, in a phrase, irregular, however San Francisco hasn’t been unfamiliar with successful ballgames within the inning or later. The Giants’ 5 walk-off victories are essentially the most in baseball, as are their 10 victories when trailing by not less than two runs sooner or later. Getting into play, the workforce’s .871 OPS in high-leverage conditions was, appropriately sufficient, one of the best in all of baseball.
“Every game, we take it one pitch at a time, one at-bat at a time,” Ramos mentioned. “Obviously, the pitcher always keep us in the game. We take good at-bats, we get on base, we steal — we do whatever we have to do to win the game.”
Ramos and the remainder of the Giants will now have the luxurious of having fun with a time off on Monday, their first reprieve from taking part in in two-and-a-half.
San Francisco clashed with a few of baseball’s finest groups over this 17-game stretch, an inventory that features the New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies and Milwaukee Brewers, however completed with a 10-7 report. As issues stand, their 19-10 report is the second-best in all of baseball behind solely the New York Mets (19-9).
“To be able to post up — day games, night games, travel, East Coast, West Coast — it was pretty significant,” Melvin mentioned. “These guys just continue to go out there and fight. Our best work is usually done at the end. I think they handled 17 in a row really well.”
Initially Printed: April 27, 2025 at 3:45 PM PDT
