Following misinterpreted comments, Ramos’ homer sets tone for SF Giants win over Padres

SAN DIEGO — It will go down one of the most unique days of Heliot Ramos’ career.

His comments about Giants fans being misinterpreted and taken out of context. His leadoff home run kickstarting a three-homer first inning and the Giants’ 4-3 win over the San Diego Padres. His embracing of the villain role at Petco Park after being involved in a fan interference call.

All those components amounted to whirlwind of a day.

“I was just trying to stay in the game,” Ramos said. “I was just trying to stay positive, trying to win a game. We know what we have going on here. We know that we want to win a game. … At the end of the day, I just want to stay here in the present with the guys, play good baseball, try to win for the fans and for everybody and for ourselves. I don’t think anybody wants it more than us. That’s all I care about.”

On Monday morning, the San Francisco Chronicle released a story in which Ramos told the publication that the Giants’ recent stretch of poor play hasn’t lessened the team’s support of manager Bob Melvin. SFGate then picked up Ramos’ comments and took them out of context, publishing a story with the headline: “SF Giants player bashes fans for being ‘against us’ after historic losing skid.”

The comments quickly made their way around social media, causing many fans to become incensed with the 2024 All-Star. Prior to Monday’s game, Ramos spoke with reporters to clarify his comments.

“I love the fans and they always show me love in the field,” Ramos said. “I have nothing against them. Every time I’m walking on the streets with my family, they love me and I love them back. All I’m trying to say is in the inner circle — obviously not even you guys that are reporters know what’s going on in the clubhouse — all I want to say is that Bob is a great manager. … I’m just trying to have Bob’s back, I’m just trying to always support (him).

“The fans, like I said, I love them, I have nothing against them. But at the end of the day, what we have in the clubhouse, nobody knows about it. That’s all I was trying to say.”

Once he stepped on the field, Ramos gave Giants (61-64) fans reason to cheer.

Ramos led off the ballgame by sending an 88 mph fastball from the Padres’ Nestor Cortest into the left-field bleachers, giving the Giants an early 1-0 lead. Rafael Devers followed up with a solo homer of his own, making him and Ramos the first Gants to go back-to-back to begin a road game since Chuck Hiller and Duke Snider in 1964.

Three batters later, San Francisco landed its haymaker. Following Casey Schmitt’s one-out double, Wilmer Flores stunned Petco Park with a two-run homer, the Giants’ third homer of the inning.

Following his home run in the first, Ramos was partially responsible for taking one away in the second.

In the bottom of the second, the Padres’ Xander Bogaerts hit a towering fly ball to left field. Ramos slowly drifted towards the wall, extending out his right arm so he could feel for the padding.

As the ball came down, Ramos extended out his left arm to make the catch. At the same time, a fan wearing a black ABBA shirt also reached out for the projectile. Ramos made contact with the ball, but the ball deflected off his glove and into the seats for a solo homer.

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When Ramos realized the ball wasn’t in his glove, he raised his right arm to the crowd to suggest that fan interference was at play. Following a lengthy replay review, the call was overturned and Bogaerts was out. The official explanation determined that “the spectator reached out over the field of play and interfered with a live ball.”

“When I was about to catch it, I saw that his arms were over me,” Ramos said. “I was guessing it hit the arm or something. When I was trying to catch it, it hit my glove. Then I saw the replay. It only show the guy on the bottom. It doesn’t show the guy on the top. He was over me — literally over me. His whole body was across the wall. It clipped the finger a little bit.”

Once the call was announced, Petco Park’s packed house filled the Gaslamp Quarter with a symphony of boos. Ramos proceeded to troll the Padres fans sitting in the left-field bleachers, pointing and laughing at the Friar faithful.

“I’m just saying it’s not my fault,” Ramos laughed. “I’m not the one who overturned the call. ‘Why are you mad at me? I’m just here playing.’ Some of them were laughing, smiling. Some of them were talking trash.”

Melvin added: “He couldn’t help but hear it. He didn’t do anything wrong. He’s just trying to catch the ball out there.”

The jeers never stopped. To the surprise of Ramos, Padres fans greeted Ramos with boos every time he stepped to the plate or fielded a fly ball. In time, they’d have their own reason to cheer.

Robbie Ray cruised through the first six innings but allowed three unearned runs in the seventh, his final pitch resulting in a two-run homer from Ryan O’Hearn that sliced the Giants’ lead to 4-3. With no room for error, Ryan Walker and Randy Rodríguez shut the door.

Walker, who welcomed his second child this past weekend, recorded the final out of the seventh and pitched a scoreless eighth. Rodríguez worked past a one-out single to shut the door in the ninth.

Appropriately enough, the final out of the game landed in Ramos’ glove.

“It’s releasing, for sure,” Ramos said of hitting a homer following a strange pregame. “It’s releasing that I get to contribute and play good baseball. It’s been tough for the whole team. It’s been tough for everybody. It’s a really good feeling that we’re getting going to a good stretch.

“I feel like we’re going in a good pace. I feel like we have the team to do what we want to do and make it to the playoffs.”

Worth noting

Third baseman Matt Chapman (left hand inflammation) took grounders today. He will begin hitting on the field on Wednesday in San Diego.Left-hander Erik Miller (left elbow sprain) was scheduled to undergo an MRI.Outfielder Jerar Encarnacion (right hamstring strain) will begin his throwing and hitting progression this week.Walker was activated off the paternity list prior to the game. Right-hander Keaton Winn was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento in a corresponding move.