José Ramírez belted a pair of home runs to help the Cleveland Guardians defeat the Baltimore Orioles 8-4 at Progressive Field. The performance allowed the 33-year-old third baseman to pass Earl Averill for second place on the franchise's all-time home home run list at Progressive Field and other venues. Cleveland secured the four-game series victory.
Ramírez connected for his first homer in the fourth inning on a first-pitch four-seam fastball from Baltimore starter Trevor Rogers. The ball traveled a projected 408 feet over the 19-foot wall in left field, breaking a scoreless tie and sparking a four-run inning for the Guardians. Baltimore answered with four runs in the top of the fifth, but Ramírez responded immediately with his second homer, a 379-foot drive off a 1-1 changeup that hugged the left-field foul pole. This marked Ramírez's 28th career multi-home run game, the most in Cleveland history. The Guardians went on to win 8-4, clinching the series. With the two homers, Ramírez reached 138 career home runs at home for Cleveland, surpassing Earl Averill's 126 and trailing only Jim Thome's 184. Guardians starter Joey Cantillo praised his teammate, saying, “He's one of the best players in the world. Getting to watch him play every day is something that I don't think any of us take for granted.” Through Cleveland's first 23 games this season, Ramírez has six home runs and 10 stolen bases, making him the oldest player at age 33 to reach those marks since 1900, joining just eight others. He stands at 291 career homers and 297 steals, nearing the 300-300 club. “I think I set my standards a little higher than those numbers,” Ramírez said through interpreter Agustin Rivero. “Most importantly, it's trying to win.” Catcher Austin Hedges added, “It's just another day for Hosey. That's what we expect out of him.
