Ramos fuels Giants with 2nd HR since returning from thumb injury

WASHINGTON -- Heliot Ramos’ power was stirring, waiting for the right moment to manifest after the slugger entered San Francisco's four-game series with the Nationals having gone six games without a homer. In Wednesday night's bout against Washington, he smashed his second homer in back-to-back nights just four days after exiting a game due to swelling in his thumb.

The outfielder joined the Giants’ slugfest en route to their 7-4 win at Nationals Park.

“It felt like I haven’t hit homers in a minute before today,” Ramos said. “So it feels really good, and against a righty, too. I’m happy that it’s working. I’m trying to take good at-bats and try to be out there aggressive. Just gotta get things to hit.”

He got the pitches he needed to achieve some franchise history, as well. Ramos’ 17 homers are the most by a Giants player under the age of 25 in his first 76 games of a season since Will Clark in 1988.

Ramos jammed his finger the first time on a seventh-inning sinker from Justin Lawrence in the first game of the doubleheader against Colorado on July 27, then again in Saturday night’s 6-4 loss to the Reds. He was out for the following two days icing it while taking anti-inflammatories.

Ahead of Tuesday’s 11-5 loss to the Nationals, Ramos’ first game back from the injury, manager Bob Melvin said he was uncomfortable with how much Ramos had hit during pregame batting practice. Luis Matos made his way to the clubhouse in case issues arose. They never did.

With the time off, Ramos took the opportunity to change his approach at the plate.

“I'm just trying to stay aggressive. That’s it,” the right-handed batter said. “That's my mentality now. I don't want to be like, ‘Oh, I'm afraid of getting to him.’ You know what I mean? I'm ready to hit. They throw it right there, it’s gonna go places for sure.”

The shift in approach worked, and Ramos showed he was back in fighting form on Tuesday, smashing his longest dinger this season -- a Statcast-projected 428 feet -- in his first plate appearance of the night.

The Puerto Rican’s power display was not over. Ramos connected with an 82.9 mph curveball from Nationals starter Jake Irvin in the fifth inning of Wednesday’s game, launching it 422 feet into the Giants’ bullpen at 109.5 mph off the bat. The homer was San Francisco’s second of the night, following right fielder Mike Yastrzemski’s game-tying long ball in the fourth inning.

While he is putting on a display of power, Ramos said that he is still battling through the pain he occasionally feels in his thumb while at the plate.

“I think the padding is a little bit different on the bat now, and he's more comfortable with that,” Melvin said. “So hopefully that's a good sign. He's swinging the bat well.”

Third baseman Matt Chapman then proceeded to put the exclamation point on the night two batters after Ramos' go-ahead blast. With two outs, he extended the Giants’ lead by hitting a homer just seven feet shy of where Ramos’ bomb had landed.

“It makes a huge impact when you’re not having to string a ton of hits together, and situationally we haven't been great lately,” Melvin said. “So those homers have a big impact on the game. Put a lot of energy in our dugout.”

Chapman leads the Giants with 19 home runs so far this season. Coming in at a close second is Ramos, who only needs two more to tie. The center fielder also trails Chapman by one RBI.

“We always back each other up,” Ramos said about the ongoing race. “I’m hoping we can both hit 30, 40, whatever home runs are hit. It will help the team a lot.”

With the second win of the series, San Francisco is now 3 1/2 games back from the final NL Wild Card spot. While most players and coaches try not to look at the standings, Ramos is keeping one eye on the races.

“I look at it. I'm not gonna lie,” Ramos said. “I want to win. That's our main goal. We're all pushing through for the same goal. We want to win. We want to get our minds right. … It feels like we're far, but we were right there. I feel like we're gonna make it.”