Heliot Ramos led off the bottom of the ninth inning with a “Little League home run,” taking advantage of two Texas Rangers throwing errors to circle the bases on an infield single and hand the host San Francisco Giants a 3-2 walk-off win on Sunday afternoon.
The parade around the bases began when Ramos chopped reliever Luke Jackson’s first pitch between the mound and third base, where Jackson bare-handed it and threw it past first baseman Jake Burger.
Burger chased down the ball in foul territory down the right field line, but his attempt to gun down Ramos streaking for third was off-line, allowing the Giant to dash home with the club’s second consecutive walk-off win and fifth of the season.
Camilo Doval (2-1), who needed just 10 pitches to retire the Rangers in order in the top of the ninth, was credited with the win. Jackson (0-3) took the loss.
For the second day in a row, the Rangers jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, only to see the Giants draw even to set up some ninth-inning dramatics.
Marcus Semien’s two-run single off Giants starter Jordan Hicks produced Texas’ early lead. Burger and Joc Pederson, both of whom had doubled, scored on the hit.
The Giants took advantage of Jack Leiter’s wildness to get within 2-1 in the last of the first, scoring on a bases-loaded walk to Wilmer Flores. Leiter had earlier walked two of the three men on base.
San Francisco tied the game in the fourth on a two-out RBI single by Christian Koss off Rangers reliever Jacob Latz, scoring Ramos, who had singled and stolen second.
Leiter was pulled one out into the fourth, charged with two runs on two hits. He walked four and struck out three.
Hicks worked the first five innings, allowing two runs and seven hits. He struck out three without issuing a walk.
Ramos had two singles and scored twice on a day without extra-base hits for the Giants, who went 5-2 on a week-long homestand, winning three one-run games.
The win pushed San Francisco nine games over .500 for the first time this season.
Leody Tavares doubled twice and Pederson had a double and a single for the Rangers, who finished a week-long tour of Northern California with a pair of 2-1 series defeats.
Texas outhit the hosts 10-5.
-Field Level Media
