ARLINGTON — When Heliot Ramos showed up at Oracle Park a few months after the Giants selected him 19th overall in the 2017 MLB Draft, he followed the usual routine. He met with the media, took photos on the field with then-general manager Bobby Evans and other team executives, and took a tour of the facility. And then Ramos sat in the dugout for a while with Bruce Bochy, the two smiling as they talked about the young outfielder’s future.
Looking back on that Saturday afternoon, Ramos noted how much has changed. He was well built for a 17 year old, but he was still much slimmer than he is today. There was no beard, not even a hint of facial hair. Bochy wore orange and black and has since retired, returned and won another title.
As Bochy’s Texas Rangers prepared for his old team to come to Globe Life Field this weekend, much of their attention was on Ramos. Right now he is easily the Giants’ most dangerous hitter.
“He’s been hitting well,” Bochy said before the series. “I watched this kid come up through the minors during my time there when I retired and (was) watching guys. He’s a talented kid, he’s got power, an arm, he runs well. He’s a good athlete. We’ve got to try to remove it.”
The Rangers haven’t been able to do it often in 18 innings, although to be fair to them, the New York Yankees, Arizona Diamondbacks and many others over the last month have had the same problem.
Ramos had two more hits on Saturday, and both were huge. His resounding RBI double in the first gave the Giants a lead and his two-run homer in the third was the difference in a 3-1 victory, their third in a row after a six-game losing streak.
“What do you say about Ramos?” manager Bob Melvin wondered aloud in his postgame. “He’s playing with a lot of confidence.”
That, Ramos said, is easy to do. He’s trusting his plan at the plate and, more often than not, that leads to hard contact or walks. He was confident when he returned to the big leagues. Hitting .327 with six home runs over the last month has only added additional layers.
“Confidence comes when you make things happen,” he said.
Ramos has now driven in 23 runs in 28 games and raised his OPS to .973, which ranks second in the National League among players with more than 100 plate appearances. Production has also come in different forms. After giving him a chance to start in recent days, Melvin moved Ramos to the No. 2 spot so Austin Slater could bat first against a left-hander.
That has been Slater’s usual spot in those matchups in recent years, but it wasn’t an automatic decision given his early struggles. Slater made his manager look smart, scoring twice on Ramos’ extra-base hits. Melvin was particularly pleased with Slater’s ability to come back from an 0-2 count and draw a walk while leading off the game. That’s the kind of plate look managers love even when it doesn’t lead to runs.
Melvin spoke before Saturday’s game about how he would like to find more stability at the top of his lineup. He would be a big help if Slater could find his old form against lefties, and the team’s longest-tenured player said he appreciated Melvin giving him the opportunity Saturday given his overall numbers this season.
“It’s a lot of confidence,” Slater said.
That’s what you generally get from more experienced managers like Melvin and Bochy. Before Saturday’s game, Bochy spent most of his time talking about his faith in underperforming Rangers like Adolis Garcia and Jonah Heim. He is confident that better days are ahead.
Melvin has been rewarded lately for his patience with Wilmer Flores. He hopes Slater is the next to break out, and maybe the team’s new center fielder can help with that. Slater said his goal Saturday was simply to get on base for Ramos.
“If he keeps this up, I think I’m going to get a lot more fastballs,” he said, smiling. “I’m fine with that.”
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