Any runs in a road playoff game qualify as insurance runs. Aramis Ramirez’s one-out, two-run homer in the sixth inning was an umbrella policy that helped the Cubs feel as if they could deal with a disaster or two in their eventual 5-1 victory.
Three months ago, playing for a non-contender in Pittsburgh, his only previous major-league club, the 25-year-old third baseman couldn’t have imagined that he would be in a position to make a difference in a knockout game. He came to Chicago with center fielder Kenny Lofton in a July swap with the Pirates, and since then has driven in 40 runs in 67 games.
Braves starter Mike Hampton had retired 10 straight men when Moises Alou beat out an infield hit with one out in the sixth.
Ramirez, 0-for-2 at that point, cracked a 1-0 pitch into deep center field to give the Cubs a 4-0 lead.
“I think it was a changeup he left out over the plate,” Ramirez said. “That made it 4-, and that kind of run support for Kerry Wood is pretty much a guaranteed win.”
Ramirez’s clout was a massive, 439-foot shot. It was struck so forcefully that Hampton didn’t even turn around after Ramirez connected.
Moises Alou, who scored on Ramirez’s home run: “It was huge, huge,” said Moises Alou, who scored on Ramirez’s blast. “We needed it. We don’t score two there it’s a whole different approach.”
Ramirez had three hits–two of them doubles–in 10 career at-bats against Hampton.