Red Sox: Hanley Ramirez continues power surge with multi-homer game
By Sean Penney
With a pair of home runs from Hanley Ramirez last night, we may be in the midst of another one of the Boston Red Sox DH’s power surges.
We knew it was only a matter of time before the bats came alive. While the team still ranks dead last in the American League in home runs, the Boston Red Sox are showing signs of a power surge with Hanley Ramirez leading the way.
Boston’s designated hitter blasted a pair of home runs in Tuesday’s victory over the Baltimore Orioles. Both were nearly identical moonshots down the left field line that cleared the Green Monster before eventually falling somewhere on Lansdowne Street.
The first came in the bottom of the fourth inning, a solo shot against Orioles starter Alec Asher that gave the Red Sox a 2-0 lead.
.@HanleyRamirez puts the @RedSox up 2-0 with a solo blast! #MLBNShowcase pic.twitter.com/egGTMV4sFC
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) May 3, 2017
The next time Ramirez stepped to the plate in the bottom of the sixth he got the best of Asher again with another solo shot that traveled an estimated 442 feet.
.@HanleyRamirez knocks his second homer of the night and the @RedSox lead 3-1 in the bottom of the 6th. #MLBNShowcase pic.twitter.com/jlvxnmxYST
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) May 3, 2017
Ramirez is now up to five home runs this season, four of which have come in the last four games. He’s been on a tear during his current eight-game hitting streak, raising his batting average from a season-low .210 to .267 since April 23.
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While the home run power Ramirez has displayed over the past few games has been impressive, he may only be getting started. We’ve seen these power binges before from the streaky Ramirez, whose homers tend to come in bunches.
Ramirez’ first year after signing with the Red Sox prior to the 2015 season was deemed a massive disappointment. The failed experiment of moving him to left field and a shoulder injury that put him in a funk at the plate overshadowed the tremendous start to his tenure in Boston. Ramirez hit .293 with a 1.000 OPS and blasted 10 home runs in April that season, providing the production the team expected when they inked him to an $88 million deal. His season quickly unraveled after that, but it showed us what he was capable of.
Last year, Ramirez treated us to a similar hot streak in the second half of the season. He smashed 22 home runs in only 243 at-bats after the All-Star break, including 10 down the stretch in September.
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Many were skeptical that Ramirez would repeat last year’s 30 home run total, considering he had only reached that plateau one other time in his career. His slow start to the season has him well off that pace, although his history of torrid streaks suggests that we shouldn’t be surprised if he suddenly doubles his season total over the next couple of weeks. If he reaches double-digits by the end of May then he’ll be back on that 30-homer pace.
The Red Sox are hoping that Ramirez’ power binge is as contagious as the strains of the flu virus that ravaged the clubhouse earlier this season. Boston still remains well behind the rest of the league in the home run department and no other player on this roster behind Ramirez has more than three homers this season.
Ramirez’ power surge could have a ripple effect on the rest of the lineup, with those hitting in front of him getting more pitches to hit from pitchers aiming to limit free passes to keep Hanley’s blasts to the solo variety. One thing this team seems to be missing since the retirement of David Ortiz is a middle of the order threat that pitchers are afraid of. When Ramirez has it going, he is capable of being as dangerous as any hitter in the league.
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He’s clearly locked in right now, so this spike in power from Ramirez may be the spark the Red Sox lineup needs to get back to being the juggernaut offense we’ve seen in recent years.