'We called up the greatest hitter alive': Ramírez continues torrid pace with first HR

SEATTLE -- Cal Quantrill, standing outside the Marlins clubhouse following their 8-4 win over the Mariners, had to smile thinking about Agustín Ramírez’s week.

“We called up the greatest hitter alive, I guess,” he said with a laugh.

It was a hyperbolic statement.

Mostly.

Ramírez, Miami’s No. 4 prospect who was called up out of necessity Monday when Rob Brantley went on the IL, wrote yet more history Friday at T-Mobile Park with a 2-for-4 night at the plate that included a double and his first career home run.

The outing gives Ramírez a 7-for-10 line through the first three games of his career, with four doubles and the homer. He’s the first player in at least 125 years to log at least seven hits and at least five extra-base hits in his first three career games.

“The quality of the contact, the at-bat quality, the calmness, the presence in the box -- it doesn’t seem like the stage is too big for him,” Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said. “He took some really good swings tonight.”

Coming out of his third straight game of really good swings, he’s now the owner of a .700 average and a 2.150 OPS.

Ramírez’s debut on Monday was so eye-opening that McCullough made him just the second rookie in Marlins franchise history to bat cleanup. When it continued in a 3-for-3 outing Tuesday, the coaching staff took another step, keeping the rookie’s bat in the fourth spot in the lineup in Seattle as the designated hitter.

Ramírez began his night with a pair of outs in the air -- his first time getting retired in back-to-back plate appearances. In the sixth inning, he turned on a Casey Lawrence sweeper and roped it over third base and into the left-field corner for a double, getting back in the hit column.

Then in the eighth, after the Mariners had narrowed the Marlins’ lead to two runs, Ramírez put an even bigger stamp on the game, turning on a sinker over the inside corner and blasting it a Statcast-projected 406 feet out to left-center.

“When I was running around the bases, the joy was incredible,” the rookie said via interpreter Luis Dorante Jr.

“To homer out there to left-center here, that’s big-boy land,” McCullough added.

Ramírez’s double came off his bat at 103.5 mph. His home run had an exit velocity of 106.9 mph. It’s still early, but at the moment, his average exit velocity on balls in play is 94.5 mph, which ranks 18th in the league (min. 10 at-bats) and first among rookies.

“I think the most important part is to go up there with a plan, and continue to plan with … the coaching staff,” Ramírez said. “ And you have to execute, just follow that plan in the game.”

Ramírez capped off the Marlins’ day at the plate, which began by pouncing on a gift-wrapped opportunity.

With a runner on first and two outs in the top of the fifth, Matt Mervis squibbed a center-cut fastball straight at Seattle second baseman Dylan Moore -- exit velocity 65.4 mph -- and Moore muffed it. Four batters later, Miami had all the scoring it would need.

Liam Hicks started the rally with an RBI single chipped into left field. Javier Sanoja hit another RBI single, and went to second on the throw to the plate. That put two men in scoring position and flipped the lineup card over for Xavier Edwards, who plated both with a single of his own.

Jesús Sánchez put the cherry on top of the gifted sundae with his first home run of the season, which went a Statcast-projected 406 feet and made it a 6-1 ballgame.

It was yet another day of clutch hitting for a Miami club that entered the day leading the league in batting average with two outs and runners in scoring position (.288) while standing second in OPS (.864) and RBIs (44).

“It was a really nice job of them to hang in there,” McCullough said. “Didn’t try to do too much, stayed in the middle of the field, put the ball in play, and found some holes.”

Then, all that was left was for Miami’s rookie to log another chapter in what’s becoming a historic start.

“He’s having a pretty good introduction to the big leagues,” Quantrill said. “I like the way he prepares. I think he received the ball well in his first two starts catching, as well. He seems to have a good head on his shoulders. So it’s awesome to see him succeed like this."