By Sam Bush
You want to know how much difference the recently acquired Wilson Ramos makes when he is in the Phillies line-up instead of resting his sore wrist and hamstring?
Ramos went 4-for-5 with a double, home run and three RBIs in yesterday’s 8-3 victory over the Blue Jays. His opposite-field double in the second inning scored the Phillies’ third run. His opposite-field two-run home run in the eighth inning handed the Phillies a six-run lead.
“Every time he swings he seems to barrel the ball,” Rhys Hoskins said.
Ramos has played just six of 12 games for the Phillies since they activated him from the disabled list on Aug. 15 because of hamstring issues and a sore left wrist. In those games he has hit .480 (12-for-25) with five doubles, one triple, one home run, eight RBIs and a 1.342 OPS. He has three or more hits in three of those games.
“I feel good,” Ramos said. “I feel good with my approach at home plate. I feel like I’m doing my job.”
Lately, he has felt tightness in his right hamstring.
“It’s very hard,” Ramos said, “especially because I want to play. I want to play every day. I want to help my team make the playoffs. We’re in a good spot right now to make the playoffs, but I understand if they want to give me two days per week off. That’s good because they want me to rest a little bit and get better.”
Phillies manager Gabe Kapler said he will continue to speak with Ramos about his health.
“We’d love to ride him,” Kapler said. “We’d like to play him four times, five times a week, if possible. A lot of that depends on how well he’s recovering so we don’t get overzealous and put him at risk in any way. Kind of like we did at the very beginning of the season, we’re balancing winning today’s baseball game with the long-term health and well-being of our players. In this particular case with Ramos, it’s balancing winning tomorrow with having him healthy through September and into October.”
