CLEVELAND, Ohio –Indians third baseman Jose Ramirez showed Wednesday night that a ballplayer does not have to be defined by one play in a particular game.
Ramirez made an error in the third inning that allowed Texas to score two unearned runs and temporarily tie the score. But Ramirez kept hitting, kept hustling and kept stealing bases. The Indians followed his lead with a season-high five stolen bases in a 10-6 win over the Rangers.
Don’t get the wrong idea. Ramirez did not act alone.
It certainly helped that Bradley Zimmer continued to hit baseballs to the forgotten parts of Progressive Field. Myles Straw and rookie Owen Miller went deep as well to give the Indians nine homers in this three-game series as they climbed above .500 (63-62) for the first time since Aug. 2.
Ramirez, however, could not or would not be stopped. He scored three runs and reached base four times in five plate appearances. On the bases, he tied a career high with three steals. Zimmer and catcher Austin Hedges stole bases as well. The Indians haven’t stolen five bases in a game since June 15, 2019.
“He’s multi-talented from power to RBI,” said acting manager DeMarlo Hale. “Then he’s just instinctive on the bases. You’ve got to tip your cap to Sandy (Alomar, first base coach). They saw something and they were aggressive over there.
“Josie is an All-Star player. There are not a lot of players like him.”
After Texas tied the score at 4-4 on Ramirez’s error, the Indians responded with four runs in their half of the inning to take control. Daniel Johnson and Hedges opened the inning with singles off Jordan Lyles (6-11, 5.70). Andres Gimenez doubled past first for a 5-4 lead as Hedges stopped at third.
A sacrifice fly by Amed Rosario made it 6-4. Ramirez, with two out, beat the shift with a single into right center for a 7-4 lead. He stole second and scored on a single by Franmil Reyes for the final run of the inning.
Miller’s leadoff homer in the fifth made it 9-4, but Texas closed to 9-6 with homers by Nick Solak in the sixth and DJ Peters in the eighth. Zimmer pushed the lead back to 10-6 as he scored Ramirez on single in the eighth.
Rookie Sam Hentges started and went four innings. Trevor Stephan, another rookie, relieved and allowed one run over 2 2/3 innings. Stephan is 3-0 and all of his wins have come at Progressive Field.
“Stephan has been awesome,” said Hedges. “The last couple of times out he’s gone almost three innings. That’s tough to do coming out of the bullpen. But he’s been handling his business and developing.”
Veteran Nick Wittgren relieved Stephan with two out in the seventh and pitched the eighth. Emmanuel Clase, yet another rookie, closed the game in the ninth.
The Indians took a 4-0 lead in the first with a lot of power and a little speed. Straw started the inning with the first leadoff homer of his career and the seventh by the Indians this season. He hit the second pitch of the night by Lyles down the right-field line for his fourth homer of the season.
Ramirez drew a one out walk, stole second and scored when Reyes ripped a double to left. Reyes has 36 RBI at Progressive Field this year.
Then came Zimmer, who drove a 2-1 fastball into the second deck down the right field line for a 4-0 lead. The ball was measured at 465 feet and landed in what used to be called Pronkville for former Indians slugger Travis Hafner. But since the second deck was reduced by several rows in 2015, not many players have reached that part of the ballpark unless they bought a ticket.
“I turned and looked at some of the coaches who have been here,” said Hale. “People were saying, ‘We haven’t seen many people go up there. Maybe (Jim) Thome.”
Zimmer now owns the Indians’ two longest homers of the season, according to Statcast. He hit a 471-foot homer that cleared the second row of trees in center field and landed in Heritage Park, the Indians Hall of Fame, on Aug. 9. Reyes owns the third, fourth and fifth longest homers on the Tribe’s power list. Zimmer and Reyes are tied for the sixth longest at 446 feet.
When he got back to the dugout after the home run, Zimmer watched a replay of the reaction of his teammates in the dugout.
“There was an explosion in the dugout,” said Zimmer. “I think Hedgie (Hedges) screamed louder than I’ve ever heard him. But he screams every day.
“It’s always fun to have big moments like that. Whether it’s yourself or your teammates. It fires everybody up and gets the momentum on your side.”
Hentges retired the Rangers in order in the first, but had his hands full for the rest of his start.
The Rangers scored twice in the second to make it a 4-2 game. Jose Trevino doubled home one run and scored on Solak’s single past first.
Texas made it 4-4 in the third on Ramirez’s two-run error with two out. Isiah Kiner-Falefa singled and went to third on Andy Ibanez’s double to start the inning. Hentges, however, struck out Rookie of the Year candidate Adolis Garcia and retired Peters on a grounder back to the mound. Nathanial Lowe, who had five hits in Tuesday’s series opener, sent a grounder to the left side. Ramirez, pulled off third, couldn’t make the play and kicked the ball into short left field as both runs scored.
Ramirez recovered in time to throw out Lowe as he tried to reach second. The recovery continued for the rest of the night
“That’s just the player Josie is,” said Hentges. “He’s the rock of our order. The Rock of our team and he went out there tonight and showed that.”
Next: Boston visits Progressive Field for a three-game series on Friday. The Indians will start lefty Logan Allen (1-5, 9.13), while the Red Sox will go with LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (9-7, 5.19). Bally Sports Great Lakes, WTAM and WMMS will carry the 7:10 p.m. game.
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