José Ramírez propels Guardians to victory vs. Cardinals

ST. LOUIS — José Ramírez’s mindset is simple: It’s not time to take the foot off the gas pedal just yet.

When a team’s best player has that mentality 24 hours after celebrating a postseason berth, it’s hard for it not to trickle down to the rest of the team. And in the off-chance anyone was ready to take a day off, Ramírez set the tone early, getting the Guardians on the board first on an RBI single and later adding a homer in a 5-1 victory over the Cardinals at Busch Stadium on Friday night.

“It feels good, but we got to keep pushing,” Ramírez said through interpreter Agustin Rivero.

Why? Well, the Guardians know what’s still left to accomplish. With the Royals loss to the Giants on Friday, Cleveland can now clinch the AL Central title with a win on Saturday. After that, the team wants to clinch a first-round bye with one of the top two records of the three AL division winners.

That requires a group effort, which this team has mastered over the last week, whether it was come-from-behind victories, walk-off wins or clinching their spot in the playoffs. Each night created a different hero.

This is when Cleveland is at its best. It’s an advantage for the Guardians when they don’t have to lean so heavily on Ramírez to carry the offense every single night. This is what led to the scorching start in the early weeks of the season and it’s now the reason the Guardians are running away with the division.

But every good team needs a leader and Ramírez has been and will always be that guy for the Guardians. When he says it’s not time to take the foot off the accelerator, he’s not only referring to his team, collectively, he’s also talking about his own individual performance.

He wasn’t the one stealing all the headlines over the last few days, but he still carries a quiet 19-game on-base streak. He went 0-for-4 in the playoff-clinching walk-off win on Thursday night, but on Friday, he made sure his team didn’t come out flat-footed.

Cleveland hadn’t gotten a hit until the third inning, when Angel Martínez singled to center after a Daniel Schneemann walk. Ramírez then plopped a single into right field to put the first run on the scoreboard. When he came up again in the fifth, he mashed a solo homer down the right-field line.

“When you watch him play it’s, OK, this guy wants to be the best,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “Just watching him work, watching him interact with his teammates, watching him push his teammates to get better around him, it just solidifies everything you see [as an opponent]. This is a true pro that plays the game the right way, that works his backside off to be the best he can be.”

Suddenly, Ramírez is flirting with a 40/40 season. That blast was his 36th of the year and after he reached base on a single in the seventh, he picked up his 40th steal. He’s just the 13th Cleveland player to steal at least 40 bases in a season and the first since Rajai Davis (43) in 2016.

“It feels good,” Ramírez said of hitting the 40-steal mark, “but it obviously is gonna feel better if I’m able to hit four more homers for the 40/40.”

Ramírez needs four homers in seven games, assuming he plays in each game until the end of the regular season. Is it doable?

“Nothing he does will ever surprise me,” Vogt said. “I wouldn’t be shocked if he gets on a heater and gets it done.”

Ramírez is ready for the next champagne celebration. He’s ready to watch his team accomplish everything that outsiders doubted this club could do. He’s ready to make a run at a 40/40 season. He’s also ready for October baseball. And if Friday night is an indication of what’s to come, it’s clear the foot will not be taken off the gas anytime soon.

“We still have a job to do,” Vogt said. “We have to continue to push all the way through the end. Maybe there will be a day coming up where [Ramírez] gets a chance to take a break but I’m gonna have to fight him on it. That’s who he is. He wants to be in there every day.”