Philadelphia Phillies: Wilson Ramos already providing much needed spark
By Dan Parzych
Wilson Ramos made quite the debut with the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday to help take down the Boston Red Sox 7-4.
Despite missing out on big-name players like Manny Machado and Bryce Harper before the trade deadline, the Philadelphia Phillies still felt confident enough that acquiring Wilson Ramos would end up being a surprise factor in the team’s playoff push.
However, the Phillies knew at the end of the July they would have to be a little extra patient with the veteran catcher since he was recovering from a hamstring injury, and wasn’t expected to return for a few weeks.
On Wednesday, Ramos finally made his Philadelphia debut with the team, as they looked to end their series against the Boston Red Sox on a positive note with a win, which is exactly what happened.
After a slow start over the first three inning, the Phillies eventually came alive on offense during their 7-4 win over the Red Sox, and while there were numerous factors behind the victory, it was the strong debut by Ramos that stood out the most.
It’s one thing to go 3-for-4 with three RBIs during a first game on a new team, but when seeing how Ramos went for extra bases on all three of those hits shows why Philadelphia was excited to land him when they did.
The inconsistency by the Phillies’ offense has been a major issue at times over the last couple of months, but on a positive note, at least the team is still in great shape to make a push for a playoff spot since they’re only two games back of the Atlanta Braves in the NL East race.
But if Philadelphia can put together more performances like they did on Wednesday, it will put the team in much better shape for the final stretch of the regular season since September is right around the corner.
Plus, if Ramos continues to live up to the hype of being the catcher the Phillies have desperately needed since he can provide a spark on both offense and defense, the chances of them earning a playoff spot in the National League seem more realistic.
Ramos may still have a long way to go since this was only one game, and the chances of him matching these numbers on a nightly basis are slim, but at least it gives Philadelphia another reason to be excited over what’s in store for the rest of the year.