Ramos’ big day is not enough

INTERLEAGUE

Hits seventh HR and drives in season-high four but Twins sweep series

The San Francisco Giants’ Heliot Ramos celebrates after hitting a home run during the fourth inning against the Minnesota Twins on Sunday in Minneapolis. ELLEN SCHMIDT — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

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By Justice delos Santos

Bay Area News Group

MINNEAPOLIS >> Heliot Ramos believes he cost the Giants a win on Saturday evening. On Sunday afternoon, he responded by playing arguably his best game of the season.

It wasn’t enough for the Giants to avoid being swept.

Less than 24 hours after making a costly base-running mistake, Heliot Ramos hit his seventh homer of the year, drove in a season-high four runs and reached base four times. For good measure, he made a pair of diving catches to take away. Despite Ramos’ two-way play, the Giants lost to the Minnesota Twins, 7-6, and were swept for the second time this season, ending the road trip with a 2-4 record.

Ramos produced the game’s first three runs, driving in a run with a sacrifice fly in the first inning and blasting a two-run homer in the fourth inning. The Twins’ Brooks Lee responded with a two-run homer in the bottom of the fourth, and after both teams scored a run in the fifth, the Giants began the sixth inning with a 4-3 lead.

Erik Miller faced four batters in the bottom of the sixth inning but couldn’t retire a single one, being pulled from the ballgame after allowing a game-tying single to Royce Lewis. Camilo Doval inherited loaded bases with no outs and allowed the go-ahead run on Harrison Bader’s broken-bat fielder’s choice, but limited the damage to one run. At the end of six, the Giants trailed, 5-4.

In the top of the eighth, the Giants tied the ballgame at five apiece thanks, again, to Ramos, who hit a ground ball single that deflected off the Twins’ Griffin Jax and allowed Willy Adames to score. San Francisco eventually loaded the bases and had an opportunity for a big inning, but Ramos’ RBI was the extent of the rally.

Manager Bob Melvin was ejected in the top of the ninth inning after pinch-hitter Christian Koss struck out as he tried to check his swing. Melvin jogged from the third-base dugout to first-base umpire Ramon De Jesus following the call, vehemently arguing with De Jesus before heading back to the Giants’ clubhouse.

San Francisco couldn’t plate a run following Melvin’s ejection, but Tyler Rogers sent the game to extra innings by striking out the side in the bottom of the ninth inning, lower his ERA to 1.40 in the process.

The Giants began the top of the 10th inning with Jung Hoo Lee as the automatic runner on second base, and he would score the go-ahead run on David Villar’s weakly-hit groundout to give the Giants a 6-5 lead. The Twins scored the tying run when third baseman Matt Chapman couldn’t cleanly field a grounder, allowing Ty France to score, then won the game when DaShawn Keirsey Jr. drove in the game-winning run with an opposite-field single.

Worth noting >> Jung Hoo Lee started his first career game at designated hitter before entering in the eighth inning as a center fielder.