Heliot Ramos homers, drives in four runs

Heliot Ramos snapped out of a two-week dry spell in a big way on Friday night. The Giants' No. 3 prospect racked up three hits, scored three runs and plated four runs, including his first home run and RBIs since his four-RBI night against Hartford on May 6.

Richmond picked up a 9-4 win over Bowie, and Ramos’ big night was instrumental to the final score. His three-run homer in the fifth inning gave the Flying Squirrels a 5-4 lead they would not relinquish.

Ramos, serving as the designated hitter from the leadoff spot, started the game with a strikeout from Bowie starter Ofelky Peralta. The right-handed hurler had a strong performance, tossing four innings and striking out nine while allowing two unearned runs on three hits.

One of those three hits came off Ramos’ bat in the bottom of the third inning. The outfielder dumped a bloop single into shallow center field with one out, advancing catcher Ronnie Freeman to second.

They would both come around to score on the ensuing chaotic play, a mishandled flip by Peralta on a ground-ball single to first base from center fielder Andy Sugilio. Ramos showed off his 50-grade wheels and never stopped running, scoring all the way from first to put Richmond up 2-1.

“I was looking at the coach,” said Ramos. “It was with two outs and he hit that ground ball and the coach was sending me. We talked about it before and he said, ‘Keep running, I’ll stop you if I need to,’ so I kept going.”

Following a solo homer from outfielder Jaylen Ferguson in the fourth and a two-run shot by DH Patrick Dorrian in the top of the fifth, Ramos stepped up to the plate to face reliever Steven Klimek with Richmond down 4-2 and two runners on.

Ramos fouled off Klimek’s first two offerings, then took a high fastball and a pitch in the dirt to even the count at 2-2. He then drove a hanging slider over the right-field wall for the go-ahead three-run blast, his third long ball of the year.

“I was trying to be on time and look for a pitch that I could handle, a pitch I could drive and a pitch I could hit hard,” said Ramos. “I knew the guy had a good slider and I swung and fouled it off first pitch. He came back with two fastballs and then he put it where I could handle it.”

Ramos added to Richmond’s lead in the seventh inning with his second extra-base hit of the night. The slugging outfielder laced another slider down the left-field line for a ground-ball double that drove in Bryan Torres from first. It was Ramos’ sixth double of the year.

He would score on David Villar’s three-run homer two batters later, pushing the score to its eventual final line of 9-4.

Despite his two-week stretch of lean run production, Ramos has been taking a calm approach to the batter’s box.

“I’ve been trying to set up my routine before the ABs and try to calm down before the pitch,” he said. Ramos felt that tonight, “I was on, I was ready. I just wanted to attack.”

With his three hits and seven total bases, Ramos raised his slash line to .304/.409/.571 with an OPS of .981 over 66 plate appearances this season.