CHICAGO -- The Guardians don’t expect José Ramírez to be 100 percent physically again until 2027, as a byproduct of the left hamate surgery he underwent in June. Ramírez has continually had to manage his hand months later, and hasn’t been himself offensively along the way.
Nevertheless, the Guardians know one thing as well as anyone: Even a physically compromised Ramírez is capable of impacting a game, as we saw Wednesday in Game 3 of the American League Division Series.
With the Guardians facing elimination in the best-of-five series, Ramírez scored an insurance run in the fifth inning by flashing both his bat and his elite baserunning. The 34-year-old hit a one-out double off lefty Noah Schultz on a hot smash down the third-base line, stole third base and scored on a Chase DeLauter ground ball hit on a drawn-in infield.
DeLauter hit a 105.9 mph grounder to second baseman Chase Meidroth. By the time Meidroth came up ready to throw, Ramírez was halfway to home plate. He dove in safely to give the Guardians a 5-2 lead.
Ramírez’s double had a 106.5 mph exit velocity. He hit a 107.9 mph lineout in the first inning, which marked the second hardest-hit ball he’s had post-hamate surgery. He also drew a walk and scored a run in the third inning on Jo Adell‘s bases-clearing triple.
Ramírez wasn’t done; perhaps his biggest moment came in the sixth. Chicago loaded the bases via a walk, two hit batters and a single, and had cut Cleveland’s lead to two. All-Star Miguel Vargas had a chance to turn the game on its head, and he hit a line drive to Ramírez at third.
Ramírez slid to his left and snared the liner to get Hunter Gaddis out of the jam.
When Ramírez goes, the Guardians go. Game 3 had a lot of great signs for Cleveland.