PHILADELPHIA -- Heliot Ramos woke up at 6 a.m. on Tuesday in Sacramento and hopped on a flight to Phoenix, and then another one to Philadelphia. Ramos arrived on the East Coast at 4:15 p.m. and went straight to the gym at Citizens Bank Park to wake his body up. He got three at-bats in an extra-innings win over the Phillies.
By the time Wednesday's game rolled around, Ramos was back off the roster.
It was a whirlwind stretch for the 22-year-old, who was called up when Darin Ruf's father unexpectedly passed away. With Ruf on the bereavement list, the Giants wanted to get Ramos' bat in the lineup against lefty Ranger Suarez, but a day later they wanted left-handed-hitting Jason Vosler on the roster and added Sam Long to bolster a bullpen that carried a heavy load on Tuesday. Ramos and fellow outfielder Stuart Fairchild were optioned.
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The Giants went into Wednesday's game with just three true outfielders on their roster, along with second baseman Thairo Estrada, who can play left field. They're likely to get Austin Slater back in the next couple of days but Ramos will accompany them to Miami in case there are any more injuries and an outfielder is needed.
After that, it's back to Triple-A Sacramento, where Ramos has been working with hitting coach Damon Minor on mechanical changes. He has opened up his stance a bit and said he's trying to simplify his approach, let his athleticism take over and put his hands in a better position.
"I'm feeling good," he said. "It was a tough month and a half as I tried to figure it out and get to how my body is supposed to move."
It has taken a while for the changes to lead to results, and Ramos was hitting just .200 with a .303 slugging percentage at the time of his second call-up of the season. But he did have five hits in his final two games in Triple-A and on Tuesday he squared up two balls above 105 mph, even as he went 0-for-3. Ramos hit one ball 400 feet but it was caught at the track in dead center.
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"I thought I had it," he said a day later, smiling.
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Unless there's another round of injuries or unexpected moves, it may be a while before Ramos gets another crack at that first big league homer. The Giants have maintained that they want him to hit his way back to the big leagues, and Ramos understands.
"It's time to work and learn and show them I can get out of tough times," he said. "I'm working and grinding every day."