It seemed like a certain home run, right? I mean, I thought Heriot Ramos had it. The Giants broadcasters did too. But somehow, the ball found its way into Cedric Mullins’ glove, leaving Ramos visibly stunned and leading to his second ejection from the dugout during this trip.
The Giants haven’t managed to knock one out of the park since leaving San Francisco six days ago. Even the closest attempts seem to hit an invisible wall.
During the second inning of the Rays’ season opener against the Griffin Jacks, it looked like Ramos was about to secure his first RBI of the trip. He connected with a fastball on a 3-2 count, sending the ball soaring toward center field, where Mullins was retreating on the warning track.
The center fielder, for reasons unclear, seemed to struggle with tracking the fly ball, despite it soaring at a speed of 167.9 mph with a launch angle of 33 degrees.
Since Statcast started monitoring batted ball data in 2015, only eight other fly balls with a similar profile to Ramos’s have been logged at Tropicana Field—all of which were home runs.
But this time was different. Mullins backed up, touched the wall, and made the catch.
Ramos moved to second base, wearing a look of disbelief. It was as if he was saying, “I can’t believe this.” Even the Giants’ play-by-play announcer, Dave Fleming, was taken aback, interrupting a home run call.
High fly balls and catwalks at Tropicana Field often lead to unexpected outcomes. If a ball strikes the lower two rings, it’s automatically ruled a home run. Yet, if it hits the higher sections, it’s treated as a live ball.
Unfortunately for the Giants, their request for a video review didn’t yield clear angles showing the catwalk affecting the flight of the ball. They had to go with the call made at the game.
This sequence of events created additional tension, resulting in manager Tony Vitello needing to eject home plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt, crew chief Vic Carapazza, pitching coach Frank Anderson, and right-hander Adrian Hauser.
Frustration has been mounting in the Giants’ dugout. Their last home run came almost a week ago from Casey Schmidt against the Marlins, which was also the last game they managed to win. Currently, they’re the only team without 20 total hits and they hold the record for the fewest runs scored in the league.
Finally, in the sixth inning, doubles from Rafael Devers and Luis Arraez brought the Giants within one run—but that was their first score since a disappointing loss to the Phillies in the 16th inning on Thursday.
