Heliot Ramos was more than excited about making his major league debut for the Giants Sunday, exclaiming that it was the ‘best moment of my life,’ before and after his debut.
PHILADELPHIA -- The Giants brought Heliot Ramos back to the big leagues on Tuesday after Darin Ruf received devastating news.
Ruf's father passed away unexpectedly and the outfielder flew back to Nebraska to be with his family. Ruf went on bereavement leave and Ramos was called up to face Phillies lefty Ranger Suarez. Ruf is allowed to be gone for up to seven days and manager Gabe Kapler said the Giants want him to take all the time he needs to support his family.
Ramos surprisingly joined the Giants during their first homestand of the season and played in four games before being sent down to Triple-A. He has struggled with the River Cats, slashing .200/.291/.303 with four homers in 40 games. He does have five hits over his last two games, including a homer and double.
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SIGN UP HERE "The last couple of days have been better for Heliot, his at-bats have gotten better, the quality has gotten better," Kapler said. "He's struggled a little bit at Triple-A. This is a move because we believe in Heliot and his talent long-term and then it's a move because when you lose a player like Darin, you need to have another right-handed bat ... As far as Ramos, we haven't lost an ounce of conviction in his talent and his ability to make an impact at the Major League level."
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Suarez has dramatic splits, holding lefties to a .428 OPS while righties have a .869 OPS. Kapler started all of his available right-handed bats, including both catchers. Curt Casali is the DH and batting third a day after his game-winning homer.
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