SAN FRANCISCO — It wasn’t quite The Catch. But on this night, one dedicated to honoring the life, the legacy, the brilliance of Willie Mays, it was close enough.
With two outs in the seventh inning, Tomás Nido ripped a line drive towards the visiting bullpen. If the ball touched dirt, Nido would have a double and the Cubs would have a run. Heliot Ramos wasn’t having it. With the No. 24 on his back, the same digits his teammates and coaches donned, Ramos raced towards right-center field, extended his left arm and made an over-the-shoulder grab.
Just like Mays.
With Ramos’ catch evoking memories of one of baseball’s greatest plays, the Giants kept the good vibes going by snapping their five-game losing streak on Wilmer Flores’ ninth-inning walk-off walk, capping off a three-run frame to stun the Cubs, 5-4, on Monday night at Oracle Park.
An over-the-shoulder basket catch in center field pic.twitter.com/dJnvLsqA7s
— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) June 25, 2024
Down two runs in the ninth inning, the Giants sliced the deficit to 4-3 as Michael Conforto drove in Matt Chapman with a sacrifice fly. Following Conforto’s sacrifice fly, the Giants loaded the bases with one out, setting the table for Austin Slater to tie the game with his own sac fly. The Cubs intentionally walked Ramos to load the bases for Wilmer Flores, who drew a walk-off walk on five pitches.
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They said it: Farewell to the Say Hey Kid
Along with the glove, Ramos did his best Say Hey Kid impression by recording three hits and raising his batting average to .301— the exact same as Mays’ career mark. Ramos wasn’t the only one flashing the leather, either. In the seventh inning, Austin Slater drifted over to foul territory as he tracked down Ian Happ’s fly ball, felt for the short fence, jumped into the stands and made the catch.
Beginning with Erik Miller, the Giants rolled with a bullpen game, utilizing six pitchers to cover nine innings. While most of San Francisco’s arms pitched well — left-hander Raymond Burgos allowed one run in one innings in his major-league debut — Luke Jackson allowed three earned runs and recorded just one out. Spencer Howard provided 4 2/3 innings of long relief and struck out a career-high eight batters.