May and June served as months to forget for Landen Roupp and Heliot Ramos. Roupp, following a brilliant March and April that generated All-Star buzz, struggled disastrously. After ending April with a 5-1 record and a 2.55 ERA, Roupp labored through 11 May and June starts, sporting a 5.87 ERA and walking 26 batters in 53.2 innings. Stunningly, the San Francisco Giants lost all 11 of his starts. Ramos suffered an injury in mid-May that landed him on the IL. It took him six weeks and nearly 40 games to return.
The struggles were not confined to the field. Roupp placed himself at the center of an ugly Pride Night controversy, looked foolish and bigoted in the process, and lost himself a significant number of fans. Ramos watched Casey Schmitt and Victor Bericoto fill his shoes admirably, while talks of a trade from a franchise he openly adores swirled.
Thankfully for both players, the calendar flipped to July. And if Monday’s 10-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays was any indication, that’s marvelous news for both of them.
It was the Roupp and Ramos show from the start of the game until the final out. The game began when Blue Jays’ leadoff hitter Ernie Clement reached on an error by Schmitt. Given the way Roupp had been pitching lately, you’d be forgiven for thinking the inning would go in a sideways direction, but instead the right-hander needed just seven pitches to retire the next three batters. Easy as pie.
The bottom of the first began when Ramos, newly entrenched as the leadoff hitter, saw an 0-1 fastball from Kevin Gausman on the outer half of the plate and decided to follow it in that direction, driving it deep, deep, deep into the aptly-named triple’s alley, smashing it off the padding on the wall. As the ball ran misdirection on right fielder Nathan Lukes, Ramos beelined for third base.
And when he looked up from the dust cloud that formed around his body following a full-speed dive into the bag, he realized that the throw had gone into the dugout. And every baseball mathematician knows the this equation: Triple + Error = Little League Home Run.
There are myriad ways in which a hitter can be Oracle’d in San Francisco, and Ramos’ was one of the least aggravating ones. According to Statcast, his leadoff hit — 399 feet despite fighting the wind — would have been a home run in every ballpark but the one he plays in. Instead, three bags and a little extra cardio would have to suffice.
But Ramos would exact his revenge on the confines of the stadium. As the game wore on and the lead grew wider — the Giants would take a 3-0 lead before Roupp’s lone hiccup of the night, a solo home run allowed to Kazuma Okamoto — Ramos geared up his power bar, ready to strike again, but this time more equipped for the walls.
It came in the bottom of the sixth, so let’s set the stage. Rafael Devers led off the inning with a walk, and advanced to third when Jung Hoo Lee reached on an error. After Willy Adames drew a walk (yes, two in one inning is legal) to load the bases, Bryce Eldridge struck out for the third time.
The lead was 3-1 as Bericoto stepped to the plate, looking to pick up his teammate. He did exactly that, lining a get-it-in heater from Gausman the other way for a two-run single.
The lead had grown to 5-1, which is the sweet spot with the Giants these days. Just enough of a lead to excite you, and just small enough to make you fear the impending bullpen implosion that will throw it all away. It’ll keep you tuned in!
There are, it turns out, antidotes to a bullpen known to blow mid-sized leads. The most common prescription is spending money on a bullpen, but the pharmacy already closed for that option. The second most common is to simply expand the lead.
Enter Ramos. The wind was still howling in from right field and baseball players, unlike golfers, do not have the option to club up. Ramos, it seems, did not care. Facing Tommy Nance — Bericoto had knocked Gausman out of the game — Ramos turned on a 1-1 sinker, cockily and confidently taking on right field, and clearing the fence before you even realized what had happened.
Just like that, the game was blown open.
As it turns out, the insurance runs weren’t needed, because Roupp remembered the third most common prescription for bad bullpens: not letting them pitch. Armed with a healthy lead, Roupp returned for the seventh inning and set down the side in order, on eight pitches. Back out for the eighth he came and, while he ceded a two-out single, he responded by immediately striking out Vladimir Guerrero Jr. for style points.
All that was left was the window dressing, and Ramos apparently felt he deserved some of that fun. Our hitting protagonist stepped up in the bottom half of the eighth with two outs and one on, facing Adam Macko. As if being rewarded for his strong earlier at-bats (which also featured a groundout that was the hardest-hit ball of the day), all of which against right-handers, Ramos now got to tee off against a lefty.
If his first hit had been an attempt to clear the right field fences, and his second hit had been to prove that he truly could, his third hit was getting back to basics. He’d proven what he came to prove. Now it was time to have some fun, sit on a hanging breaking ball, and see just how far into the night his muscle can carry.
Pretty freaking far, it turns out. Ramos smashed the first pitch from Macko so high up the bleachers that even the broadcast drew out the usually-hyperbolic Andrés Galarraga comp. You don’t see a lot of 434-foot home runs in at 9 p.m. in San Francisco. Enjoy.
With that, the stars had done their job. Roupp had cruised through eight nearly flawless innings, ceding just three hits, two walks, and one run, while striking out five. Ramos had hit two homers and 29/30ths of another, knocked in five runs, and score thrice. And the supporting cast had played their part, keeping the rallies going and playing strong defense. Bericoto, in particular, impressed during his 2-4 day: after a leadoff single in the fifth, the rookie found himself standing at third with two outs, and Luis Arráez at first. With Schmitt at the plate, Arráez broke for second, swiping his seventh bag of the season. Bericoto expanded his lead perfectly, and took off with the throw, making it to home before the ball boomeranged back. A savvy and cheeky bit of running, and now he’ll always get to say that he stole home for his first Major League stolen base.
But after the fun is had, the game must end, and the Giants made sure no drama occurred. Spencer Bivens, recently called up, made his season debut to spell Roupp for the ninth. He struck out the first batter he faced. He struck out the second batter he faced.
The third? Aware of the plot, Bivens let Alejandro Kirk put the ball in play.
A soft and lazy fly ball out to the grass. Right field, specifically. Right into Ramos’ glove for out number 27.
D.J. Short
