Cleveland Guardians' José Ramírez Caps Off 10-Pitch At-Bat With Historic Grand Slam
José Ramírez gave the Cleveland Guardians an offensive boost early on in Thursday's game against the Boston Red Sox, winning a crazy battle with Chase Anderson.
Cleveland Guardians designated hitter José Ramírez and Boston Red Sox pitcher Chase Anderson were both fighting for their lives when they faced off in the second inning Thursday afternoon at Progressive Field.
Anderson had already given up a solo home run to Will Brennan earlier in the frame, just before he loaded the bases with two walks and a hit-by-pitch. It was up to Ramírez to capitalize on Anderson's miscues with two outs, but the veteran right-hander wasn't going down easy.
Ramírez took three straight balls to open the at-bat, only for Anderson to work his way back to a full count on a called strike and a swinging strike. Anderson's next four pitches – all cutters – were all fouled off by Ramírez, however.
Finally, Ramírez got a hold of a cutter right down the middle and sent it 384 feet to right. The star slugger took Anderson yard, notching a grand slam and putting the Guardians up 5-0 in the process.
According to MLB.com's Sarah Langs, it marked the fourth time in Ramírez's career that he capped off a 10-plus-pitch at-bat with a home run.
That stands alone as a franchise record for Cleveland, dating back to when pitch counts were first tracked in 1988. Casey Blake is the only other player in team history to do so multiple times, and he only did it twice.
Langs noted that only three MLB players have achieved the feat more than four times since 1988. Colorado Rockies Hall of Famer Todd Helton owns the record with eight, while Paul Konerko did it seven times and Paul Goldschmidt did it six.
Ramírez is now batting .260 with five home runs, 23 RBI, two stolen base and a .742 OPS on the season. For his career, the 31-year-old third baseman is a .278 hitter with 221 home runs, 769 RBI, 204 stolen bases and an .852 OPS.
The Guardians went on to defeat the Red Sox 6-4. They now lead the league with 18 wins.
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