Ramos shows 'oppo juice' for Oracle Park's 1st righty Splash Hit
Maria Guardado
@mi_guardadoSAN FRANCISCO -- Last week, Heliot Ramos said one of his goals was to become the first right-handed hitter to drive a ball into McCovey Cove. On Sunday afternoon, he did.
Ramos recorded the first Splash Hit by a righty in Oracle Park history by launching a game-tying home run off Robert Suarez in the bottom of the ninth inning, but it wasn¡¯t enough to avoid a three-game sweep by the Padres, who came back to beat the Giants, 4-3, in 10 innings.
¡°I always knew that I had that oppo juice, but it looks impossible just by looking at the wall and the weather here,¡± Ramos said. ¡°I was like, ¡®I don¡¯t know, but I might be able to do it.¡¯ I was always positive that I was going to do it. And I wanted to do it.
¡°This is a big organization. It has a lot of great legends and all that. For me to be the first one to do it, it¡¯s insane to me.¡±
Ramos¡¯ historic blast served as one of the lone offensive highlights for San Francisco, which was mired in a 32-inning scoreless streak before journeyman infielder Donovan Walton finally ended the drought with a leadoff homer off Padres lefty Mart¨ªn P¨¦rez in the sixth.
Walton¡¯s first homer of the season tied the game at 1 and gave the Giants their first run since Wednesday¡¯s 13-2 blowout win over the Brewers, ensuring the club wouldn¡¯t be shut out in four straight games for the first time in franchise history.
San Diego regained the lead on Fernando Tatis Jr.¡¯s first career pinch-hit home run -- an eighth-inning solo shot off submariner Tyler Rogers -- before Ramos forced another tie with his opposite-field shot in the ninth. The All-Star outfielder amazingly went the other way on a 100.2 mph fastball from Suarez, crushing the ball 394 feet to clear the right-field arcade and reach the Cove.
It marked the 105th Splash Hit by a Giant in their waterfront ballpark¡¯s 25-season history, all but one of which have been produced by left-handed hitters. Buster Posey nearly became the first right-handed hitter to join the list when he homered out to right field in Game 1 of the 2021 National League Division Series against the Dodgers, but his drive ended up hitting a water tower, preventing the ball from landing in the water on the fly.
That wasn¡¯t the case for Ramos, who knew he had the right trajectory as soon as the ball flew off his bat at 103.8 mph.
¡°I saw the height, and I knew I had it pretty good,¡± Ramos said. ¡°I knew no righty has ever done it, so it was always something that would be special if I did it.¡±
The ball was recovered by kayaker Dave Edlund, better known as McCovey Cove Dave, so Ramos said he wasn¡¯t sure if the Giants would be able to get it back. Edlund recently refused to give back a ball Braves outfielder Michael Harris II hit into the water because it was the first Splash Hit grand slam he¡¯d managed to retrieve.
¡°I can ask for it, but I don¡¯t know,¡± Ramos said. ¡°I¡¯ve got to see what they¡¯re going to do. They¡¯re going to ask for it.¡±
Ramos¡¯ rare feat was made even sweeter by the fact that it coincided with Roberto Clemente Day and the Giants¡¯ celebration of life for Orlando Cepeda. Ramos, a fellow Puerto Rican, fittingly wore Clemente¡¯s No. 21 as he hit his 21st home run of the year for the Giants.
¡°It¡¯s a great day,¡± Ramos said. ¡°We lost, obviously, but it¡¯s a special day because I did that. It¡¯s a good accomplishment for me.¡±