CLEVELAND (92.3 The Fan) - Jose Ramirez is certainly proving he’s worthy of an All-Star game selection next month. With his bat, aggressive baserunning and rock-solid defense, Ramirez lifted the Indians to a 8-7 win over the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday evening at Progressive Field.
Ramirez finished the game 2-for-4 with a home run, 3 RBI’s and a pair of runs scored. His line drive home run in the bottom of the first inning was hit nearly 108 miles per hour over the left field fence, clearing it by only a few feet.
The victory gave the Indians a series win over the O’s and provides them a chance to earn a 4-game sweep on Thursday afternoon. It’s also the 18th consecutive road-game that Baltimore has lost, dating back to May 5th.
For a pitching staff that was desperate for a lengthy outing from Aaron Civale, the game couldn’t have started much worse. Four consecutive base hits brought home two runs and gave the Orioles a 2-0 lead. But Civale induced a pop out from D.J. Stewart and a double-play grounder from Austin Hays to limit the damage and keep the Tribe in the game.
That was essentially the story of the night for Civale. He was far from his best, but he did a good job of limiting damage and keeping Baltimore from having a blowout inning. He finished the night by allowing nine hits and five runs over five innings.
If you’re wondering how the Orioles have lost so many consecutive games away from Camden Yards, look no further than disastrous third inning.
After the O’s scored in the top of the third to push their lead to 3-1, Bradley Zimmer opened the home half of the frame by singling to left field. He went to second base when Cesar Hernandez walked. Amed Rosario singled to bring home Zimmer, and each he and Hernandez both moved up an extra base on a bad throw to home plate that got away from Pedro Severino.
Instead of putting the breaks on a big inning, Baltimore imploded on one of the more embarrassing defensive sequences you’ll see.
With the Indians trailing 3-2 and Rosario and Hernandez in scoring position, Jose Ramirez whistled a single through the right side to give the Tribe a 4-3 lead. The throw from right fielder Austin Hays was cut off by Trey Mancini and Ramirez was caught in a run down between first and second base. Mancini threw the ball to Freddy Galvis, forcing Ramirez back towards first base. Galvis threw the ball to second baseman Pat Valaika (who was covering first) too early, and Ramirez avoided the tag, bolting for a vacant second base.
An embarrassing mistake … but it got even worse.
After diving in safely with third baseman Maikel Franco slowly jogging towards second, Ramirez looked up and saw third base vacant. Galvis had gotten the ball back from Valaika and lost his concentration. Despite stumbling on the way there, Ramirez scampered to third and got there easily as the stadium erupted in excitement.
“That’s a good moment,” Eddie Rosario said of Ramirez’s base-running awareness. “He’s fun to watch. It was good for the team and for the fans. I’m happy for him.”
Harold Ramirez and Rosario each followed with RBI doubles and the Indians threw up a 5-spot to take a 6-3 lead.
Both teams had additional multi-run innings, but the Indians never relinquished their lead as they beat Baltimore for the third night in a row. Cesar Hernandez laced a 2-run triple down the right field line in the sixth inning to provide Cleveland’s final runs of the night.
Ryan Mountcastle homered, singled twice and drove in four runs. Trey Mancini finished the game 3-for-5 with a double and three runs scored.
The win pushed the Tribe to 5-1 on the home stand with the series finale scheduled for Thursday afternoon at 1:10 p.m. The Indians will go with Eli Morgan (0-1, 20.25) in his second Major League start, while Jorge Lopez (2-7, 5.64) will take the ball for the O’s.
NOTABLE
Roughly an hour before the game began, Indians catcher Austin Hedges was pulled from the starting lineup. The team is already playing without primary catcher Roberto Perez for at least 3-4 more weeks, so hopefully Hedges won’t be bothered by something long-term. Rene Rivera played in his place on Wednesday night and went 0-for-2 with a walk, hit-by-pitch and a run scored.
Cleveland takes advantage of defensive mistakes and handed the Orioles an 18th straight road-loss.
