The Cleveland Guardians were in desperate need of some momentum.
Their streaky nature once again led to some struggles, as they followed impressive series wins over the Minnesota Twins and Detroit Tigers with some subpar outings.
They entered Saturday’s game seven games out of first place in the AL Central Division, which was the biggest deficit they’ve experienced since the end of the 2023 campaign.
Perhaps that is why they approached Saturday’s clash with the Los Angeles Angels with a different mindset.
They came back from a big deficit to take down the Angels 7-5 at home.
Unsurprisingly, as usually happens, Jose Ramirez had plenty to do with that.
Angels starter Kyle Hendricks tried to get him with a 0-2 sinker, and Ramirez went deep for the first time since May 16.
Following the game, Angels manager Ron Washington had nothing but praise for the veteran:
“I walked [Jose] Ramirez twice and the one time I let him swing the bat, he goes deep. Special player,” said Angels manager Ron Washington.
Ramirez saw his 21-game hitting streak come to an end on Friday.
He had two intentional walks in the first and third innings before recording his 10th homer of the season in the fifth inning to bring his team within two runs, to make it 5-3.
Notably, that swing made him reach his 10th consecutive season with at least 10 home runs.
He’s now tied with Hall of Famer Earl Averill for the franchise record in that regard.
Ramirez and the Guardians will look to keep the ball rolling when Gavin Williams (4-3, 4.27) faces off with Jack Kochanowicz (3-6, 5.07) on Sunday afternoon to close out this three-game series with a win.
NEXT: Guardians Linked To Veteran CF Ahead Of MLB Trade Deadline
