J-Ram leaves both managers 'in awe' in Guards' MLB-leading 17th win

CLEVELAND -- Guardians manager Stephen Vogt laughed before Tuesday’s game, explaining how difficult it was to tell José Ramírez a few days prior that he’d be getting a day off for the first time in his managerial career.

Keeping Ramírez out of the lineup on Sunday had nothing to do with the fact that his bat hasn’t been as loud as we’ve all become used to, Vogt was quick to explain. It was simply to let Ramírez’s body and mind have a quick break, because he knew that it was only a matter of time before the numbers started reflecting Ramírez’s efforts in the box.

Apparently, the first step toward that turnaround was only eight innings away. Ramírez gave his team some much-needed breathing room by hitting a solo homer to right field in the bottom of the eighth inning on Tuesday to help lift the Guardians to a 4-1 victory over the Red Sox on a rainy night at Progressive Field.

“I mean, he absolutely annihilated that ball the other way,” Vogt said.

Before we get further into Ramírez, we can’t ignore the fact that the Guardians have continued their hot start to the year. For just the third time in franchise history, the Guardians have won 17 of their first 23 games of a season, joining the 1999 and 1966 clubs.

And much of that has been without Ramírez taking the spotlight. It’s not like he’s looked out of sorts this year. His numbers are down and his chase rate is high, but the Guardians had already seen him hit three homers coming into Tuesday. He owned a .217 average and .544 OPS over his previous 25 plate appearances entering the game, but the ball had started to explode off of his bat over the last week.

“Even in the Boston series [last week] alone, he had three balls he hit over 105 mph that got caught. If those get down, no one's talking about anything,” Vogt said before the game. “So he's hitting the ball hard and he's having good at-bats. They're just pitching him tough. And that's what happens when you're one of the best players in the world.”

In the sixth inning on Tuesday, Ramírez was hit by that bad luck again. He laced a 106.6 mph line drive right at first baseman Bobby Dalbec that resulted in him retreating to the dugout. But this time he stopped the bleeding two innings later and he finally got something to go in his favor.

If the Guardians were looking for a stronger sign that Ramírez isn’t far from getting back into peak form, him taking the ball the other way is a good indicator.

In a 1-2 count, Ramírez -- hitting right-handed -- took a 97.8 mph heater just off the outside corner of the plate and sent it a Statcast-projected 360 feet into the right-field seats. It marked his third career opposite-field homer from the right side of the plate. The other two were each hit in 2017.

“There’s probably only two guys that can do that. Him and [Jose] Altuve,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “Like I always say, he’s a stud. He’s a good player. Obviously, I’m not rooting for him, but you’re in awe. I was like, 'For real, bro? You’re doing this?' He’s amazing. That at-bat tells the story. He’s one of the best players in baseball.”

“I was in awe of him for years,” Vogt said. “Now [that I’m his manager], I like being in awe of him. It’s just that other tier of player, that top tier of player, they do things almost every night that make you kind of jaw drop.”

The point of having Ramírez sit out on Sunday was to get him off of his feet for an extra day. Vogt knows his All-Star third baseman will play more than 150 games this year, assuming he stays healthy. So finding moments for a breather are necessary.

But the day off could unintentionally end up having more benefits. Maybe the mental reset will spark a Ramírez hot streak. Regardless, the Guardians aren’t concerned. They’ve seen what Ramírez can do countless times. His homer on Tuesday was just a reminder that at any point, the switch can be flipped.

“That's what he does,” Vogt said. “Josey hits the ball hard, doesn't get down on himself. But that was rewarding for him. For us. It was a huge hit at the time. I can't say enough about what he brings to this lineup.”