'What you want out of your superstar': Jose Ramirez sets a Guardians home run record

CLEVELAND — Jose Ramirez is accustomed to erasing deficits and breaking ties.

The Guardians five-time All-Star third baseman broke a tie Monday night in more ways than one, leading Cleveland to a 2-1 win over the American League Central foe Detroit Tigers at Progressive Field.

A day after Ramirez tied Hall of Famer Larry Doby for the franchise record for go-ahead home runs, Ramirez seized sole possession of the record. He hit his 87th career go-ahead homer in the sixth inning to provide the Guardians (23-12) with the one-run advantage they needed to prevail over the Tigers (18-17).

“He tied the record [Sunday in a 4-1 win over the Los Angeles Angels], and then he beat it today,” Guardians starting pitcher Triston McKenzie said. “But I think that's just a testament to who he is as a player. He's someone consistent, he's reliable, and whether that's at the plate or in the field, that's what you want out of your superstar.”

Ramirez entered his record-tying at-bat over the weekend in an 0-for-19 slump. Now he has home runs in back-to-back games for the first time since Aug. 26 and 27, 2023, at Toronto. He has hit seven homers this season and is four away from passing Earl Averill (226) for fourth most in club history.

“He didn't know that he was like 0-for-19,” a team translator said during Ramirez's postgame news conference, “so he comes every day to compete and try to do his best.

“So finally he's feeling that he's getting on [his] timing, and he wants to continue to put good at-bats [together] to continue to help his team.”

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With one out, Ramirez sent Tigers starting pitcher Jack Flaherty's 2-2 pitch 345 feet to the foul pole down the right-field line. The solo homer was Ramirez's 29th of his career against the Tigers, and it had an exit velocity of 93.4 mph, according to Baseball Savant.

“Oh, that's cool,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said of Ramirez's record. “What else can this guy do, right? He just seems to come up big night after night after night for us. When we need something, when we can't really get anything going, he steps up and answers a call, and he's just a special, special player that Cleveland has been lucky to have for this long and for the future.”

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Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Jose Ramirez sets Guardians record for go-ahead home runs