Not every playoff home run has to be a walk-off to be memorable or meaningful. Sometimes, it can come at just the right time to change momentum for a team and a player really in need of a boost.
That is what happened for the Cleveland Guardians in Game 4 of the ALDS against the Chicago White Sox, and it was none other than Jose Ramirez who delivered. With Cleveland trailing by a run in the top of the fifth, Ramirez gave the Guardians the lead with a two-run homer, which was a spark that they turned into a 9-5 season-saving victory.
The third baseman is still playing in pain after having hamate bone surgery that was part of his worst offensive season in a decade, which is why former player Jensen Lewis is calling it the biggest homer of Ramirez’s career.
“That might be the most consequential home run that he hits in his entire career. If they go on to win and punch another ticket to the ALCS, I guarantee you that’ll be a moment he remembers because of the personal adversity he’s had to overcome,” Lewis said.
"That might be the most consequential HR that he hits in his career. If they go on to win and punch another ticket to the ALCS, I guarantee you that'll be a moment Jose Ramirez remembers because of the personal adversity he's had to overcome." #StandGuard
– @JLEWFifty pic.twitter.com/h5DrhMsrUy
— BIGPLAY Cleveland (@BIGPLAYcle) October 9, 2026
After batting .198 with a .501 OPS in September, Ramirez was 0-for-6 with three strikeouts in Games 1 and 2, which Cleveland lost at home to arrive at the brink of elimination in the best-of-5 series. In Game 3, the seven-time All-Star started to show signs of his former self when he doubled, stole third, and raced home to score on an infield grounder in the fifth inning. He then added a two-run triple in the eighth inning of the 9-3 victory.
The Guardians did not carry over that momentum into the early stages of Game 4. They loaded the bases in the top of the first but failed to score, and sent just 10 batters to the plate over the next three innings.
But Patrick Bailey got them on the board in the fifth with a pinch-hit home run before Ramirez pushed them ahead. Cleveland then scored six times in the sixth and held on for the 9-5 win that set up Game 5 at Progressive Field on Saturday.
Ramirez hit for the cycle in nine at-bats on Wednesday and Thursday, becoming just the fifth MLB player to do so in the span of two playoff games, and he scored four runs with five RBIs. For maybe the first time this season, he looked like the perennial MVP candidate Guardians fans and teammates had grown used to.
Now, Ramirez has one more task in front of him before moving on to even bigger ones ahead.
NEXT: 3 Keys To A Guardians Victory In Game 5
